Alan Ableson
Assistant Professor
he/him
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering
Professor Ableson is truly the kindest professor I've had this year in my first year at Queen's. You can tell during lectures that he cares about his students and makes a conscious effort towards ensuring everyone's understanding of the material. He talks to us about our exams, asks how our exams went and you can tell he really values our opinion of them. He makes engineering enjoyable, and I look forward to his classes every day! He radiates positivity and has a true passion for his work, which inspires those around him. This has a huge impact on mental health when everyone us struggling through midterms and finals and he improves everyone's day for an hour during lectures.
Anonymous Student
To me, mental health in an academic setting is primarily about staying resilient, while being able to recognize and get help when you are just beyond capacity or unable to move forward because of internal or external stresses.
In the large classes that I typically teach, I think my best contribution towards mental health is to normalize the challenge. As we head into midterm and exam seasons, I expressly share that for some of them, mental health struggles will be a problem as they are faced with higher stress levels at university compared to what they may have faced before. I also share that we fortunately have a range of resources and supports available to them that will try to meet them where their needs are, so long as they are able to reach out.
--- Alan Ableson