In recommending Kate Hargreaves for the Governor General's Gold Medal, the department of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing described the two-time grad (BA 2010, MA 2012) as “the most talented and hard-working student we have had the pleasure to teach and mentor.”

Hargreaves received the medal as the top graduate student in her cohort at Saturday’s Convocation ceremonies.

During her academic career, she was active with the Windsor ReView and other literary publications, BookFest Windsor, poetry readings, and—befitting her undergraduate minors in communications and women’s studies—the Distinguished Visitor in Women’s Studies program and the Womyn’s Centre.

She has authored 25 refereed works in literary journals and earned a graduate tuition scholarship, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Canada Graduate Scholarship and an Ontario Graduate Scholarship. In addition, Hargreaves received a 2012 grant from the Windsor Endowment for the Arts as an emerging literary artist.

“I totally credit my professors for my success,” Hargreaves said. “They really encouraged me to push the boundaries of my writing.”

She singled out her thesis supervisor Nicole Markotić as well as Susan Holbrook: “Both were incredible professors” and added that her courses in publishing with resident writing professional Marty Gervais helped her to gain real-world experience.

Following her graduation in June, that experience led her to a full-time job as a publishing assistant and book designer with the literary press Biblioasis.

“It was my dream that I would end up getting a job in publishing,” said Hargreaves. “I always admired the work of Biblioasis, so to be a part of what they’re doing makes me extremely happy.”

She is currently seeking a publisher for her master’s thesis, a poetry manuscript and critical essay entitled Leak. This April, Gervais’ Black Moss Press will publish another book, tentatively titled Talking Derby: Stories from a Life on Eight Wheels, which draws on her experiences as a member of the Border City Brawlers roller derby league.