"5 minutes with..." Claire Copping (SHW Admin)
Published: 1 May 2023
As their time with us draws to a close, Athena Swan Coordinator Claire Copping reflects on their experience of a nine month secondment to SHW, navigating the wonders of ADHD, "hanging out with numbers", and where happiness and safety lie...
Spend 5 minutes with SHW Admin's Claire Copping... (Athena Swan Coordinator)
Tell us a bit about what you do in SHW
I support our Athena Swan champion Breda Cullen and the rest of the members of the Athena Swan working groups in our effort to submit our reapplication for and hopefully retain the School’s Athena Swan Gold Award. Aside from that I am a member of admin staff and offer support where needed to colleagues in SHW.
What do you enjoy about your role?
I love the opportunities to learn that the role offers. Also, it’s a great role for a people person who sometimes needs to have a break and hang out with some numbers for a while.
What are the challenges?
The role is well signposted and my goals are clearly communicated, however I have to navigate the wonders of my ADHD to be able to pass Go. This can appear as anxiety, stress and fatigue, but I’ve been working on identifying things (moods, behaviours) that precede a low period and communicating with my team to minimise disruption and stress for everyone.
What is the best thing about working in SHW?
I’m going to be cheesy and say the people because it’s true! From my first day, SHW opened their arms to me and my dog, Katya. It’s been a huge weight off knowing that not only am I permitted to bring Katya with me to work on some days, but that she has fans waiting. She loves them all too and she adores the attention, and I love seeing her happy as well.
I really do think that SHW is a trailblazer for so many aspects of what makes a workplace feel safe and secure. Their kind dog policy, the active interest they take (and effort they make) to keep us all informed, our voices heard, and our wellbeing safeguarded, and their insistence on challenging unacceptable behaviours, all go towards this.
Tell us something we might not know about you
A tricky one, as I never really hold anything back! Most people know I’m a huge nerd for pretty much anything geeky, be it anime, gaming, musicals, sci-fi, you name it.
I’m fluent in German and speak it to around a B2/C1 level. I am also an artist and content creator online, although mainly to entertain myself and my friends. You can see my work on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter if you search for "felflowne".
When or where are you happiest?
I’m happiest when I’m with someone who cares for me and we’re doing something together. That’s safety.
Tell us about something (or more than one thing!) you are proud of
Habit forming is very difficult for me so I’m proud of my 680 something Duolingo streak – although the difficulty is a bit screwy at the moment. I shouldn’t be on day six hundred and something and being asked to translate "My mother was a lawyer when she was younger" … right? That together with refusing to let up on my second language, as I think it’s so important to have. It boggles my mind, having met so many Europeans, how unusual the UK is in that most of us don’t have a second language. The norm in Europe is for people to have upwards of three or four.
If you could have your time again, what might you do differently?
I don’t think I’d change anything, lest I start a chain reaction which might lead to me becoming my own grandmother. And I like my Nan. I can’t improve on her!
Any secret – or not so secret! – ambitions?
One day I’ll get my husband to admit he’s shorter than I am. BECAUSE HE IS.
Do you have a favourite quote or saying, or mantra by which you try to live your life?
I tend to cycle through sayings I find amusing, based on the media I consume, and a lot of it becomes a strange second language among my nearest and dearest, completely indecipherable to anyone else.
If I had to settle on a statement, although I’ve never said it aloud as it sounds like something someone would make into a wall decal and I am not about that, it would be something like: Be thoughtful of others and don’t take yourself too seriously, but DO try to be nice to yourself. You’re the person you’ll eventually spend the most time with, overall, so try to be your own friend!
If you would like to appear in "5 minutes with...", do please get in touch (shwadmin@glasgow.ac.uk)! We aim to feature colleagues from across a wide range of roles and grades within our school, both staff and students, research/teaching and professional services.
First published: 1 May 2023