Leadership Insight

Summer Student Jenny Kim leads through empathy. Having grown from being a nervous high school student in an elite, world-class surgical research laboratory to a confident leader, she gets deep fulfillment in sharing the lessons she’s learned from her life experience and academic career with others, particularly in mentorship roles. Jenny provides support to her classmates and high school students, offering guidance on staying focused while studying. This includes empathy and understanding, which reflect in her leadership style: recognizing that her advice may not apply to everyone's unique circumstances. For instance, she explains, “while some may find studying at home comfortable due to easy access to food and privacy, others may face challenges such as food insecurity or family issues that make home a difficult environment for learning.” Jenny avoids assumptions about what others are going through, as each person has their own battles. Understanding this has allowed her to offer mentorship that is both supportive and empathetic. 

In addition, she has encouraged high school students to apply for programs like HYRS (the University of Alberta’s program that introduces students to research), emphasizing that while showcasing one's abilities is crucial, building connections is equally important. Jenny is a role model for students interested in HYRS, coming to the University from St Peter the Apostle Catholic High School through the program, to become an HYRS Adjudicator this year. Jenny provides feedback to peers and younger students and enjoys helping them grow. However, she’s also “learned the importance of self-care, knowing that to give the best support to others, I must first take care of myself,” she says. As she mentors others, she often emphasizes the value of self-love and the balance between helping others and nurturing one's own well-being. This empathy builds teams. Director of Surgical Simulation Research Laboratory, Dr. Bin Zheng says, "Leadership is demonstrated when one uplifts others during moments of stress. Jenny’s smile fosters unity and motivates everyone to collaborate effectively as a team." 

Jenny demonstrated and developed her leadership, communications, and organizational skills, promoting the Department’s Surgery Camps program – a five-day training program to introduce high school students to the diverse facets of surgical science – reaching out to peers, answering their questions regarding research opportunities and mentoring. Her collaboration with other undergraduate and medical students included gathering information and activities for case studies that they initiated for the surgery camp and mentoring them in their roles. Jenny demonstrated her teaching and communication skills by giving a presentation about aseptic technique in research, sharing her stories with students about what it’s like to work in research labs, and giving a tour.

Jenny further developed her leadership skills in the International award-winning Surgical Research Communications Team. Initially she took on the task of advising the team how to improve its social media outreach to high schools - resulting in a post that had the second highest engagement level of any post in any of the Department of Surgery’s social media channels in their five-year history. Going above on beyond, she has advised on EDI content of the Department’s newsletter and strategic approach to engaging junior researchers. "Jenny always goes above and beyond. If a job needs doing, she just steps up and quietly does it, demonstrating leadership by inspiring and motivating others in the team," says the Department's Communications Coordinator, Nick Wilson. 

She also played a key role in helping the Department prepare for its 100th-anniversary celebration, deploying her video editing skills and advising on content. The creative, fast-paced video inspired the Department and major donors.

On her journey, Jenny was inspired by others. “What truly drives me is a deep passion for learning something new every day. This love for discovery opened a door for me in 2020, when I was selected for the HYRS program at the University of Alberta. Since then, I've spent four years in research developing a range of laboratory and communication skills under the guidance of incredible mentors.”