“My entire transnational and transgenerational history and legacy as a descendant of enslaved Africans is one of constantly having to 'overcome'; 'come thru', and 'break apart/free'. I grew up in working class neighborhoods in Scarborough and was a part of a very vibrant anti-violence women's community and pan-African activist community from a very young age. 'Overcoming adversity' for me […]
“When I was younger I had skipped a grade, so when I graduated from Oakwood Collegiate Institute in Toronto, I was a year younger than the rest of the graduating class. Not only was I leaving high school at 17-years-old, but I hadn’t hit my growth spurt yet, standing at 5 foot 8. Coming to […]
"Giving back to my community has always been important to me; my mom taught us from an early age that we needed to do our part to give back. Toronto drafting me and allowing me to stay in the city just opened the door to allow me to do that on a larger scale. I’m […]
"Because she was a girl, my mum never had the opportunity to finish school, but she did everything she could to ensure that all four of her sons received the best quality education – one she never had. Forever inspired by her, I am a global education youth expert and activist with over 7 years […]
"Roughly 15 years ago I was helping organize a conference with some other academics. We did not know each other personally and we were all located around the world, so were communicating remotely via conference calls. Once we all met in person we made our round table introductions. When it was my turn to speak, […]
“Mummy and me ribbon skirts: I picked a pattern with Alberta roses - being from Alberta and all - and had such a great time cracking out my sewing machine to design and sew these. Thank you to the Centre for Aboriginal Student Services (CASS) at York; we hold cultural workshops for students at York […]
"When I was 13 years old my best friend was diagnosed with a rare type of connective tissue cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. We had spent nearly every day together since kindergarten and the news was shocking and hard to process. I learned at an early age how to change bandages, clean PICC lines, and what […]
"I was born and raised in Delhi, India and immigrated to Canada 14 years ago. I recently completed my undergrad degree in Environmental Studies: Politics, Justice and the Arts with a certificate in Sustainable Energy. What attracted me to the program was my passion for biodiversity and the opportunity to do Experiential Education in the […]
"I finally understood the role I wanted to play in the complex puzzle of conservation and environmental management. I wanted to become a champion in designing and implementing solutions for environmental problems. In order to achieve real change, I realized we must build new models that make others obsolete. My problem was that the ideal […]
"My family and I were refugees from Iran and I grew up in a single-mother household. We moved to Canada to pursue the education my mother never could and have the freedom she had never tasted. When I was a teenager, my mom was injured at work and became disabled. I had to watch her […]