Presentations

What happens to your students applications once they hit the submit button on their OUAC application? Learn about the university application components that go beyond grades, including: what happens during the processing at the OUAC; how are supplementary applications are weighted; how additional requirements like portfolios, auditions and essays are evaluated.

Presented by Marisa Modeski, Manager of National Recruitment at Ryerson University. Marisa served on a number of provincial university committees including the OURA Executive, the Standing Committee on Secondary School Liaison, Ontario Universities' Fair Task Force and the Liaison Workshop Committee.

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Learn a creative career counselling technique that uses narrative approaches, law of attraction processes and the often overlooked role of thoughts and feelings in making career/life decisions. Using an innovative Making Career Decisions Diagram, you will learn how to guide students through the complexity involved in making career decisions.

Presented by Leigh Anne Saxe. Leigh Anne is a Career Counsellor at York University's Career Centre. She assists students and new graduates both one-on-one and in Career Exploration workshops, to determine for themselves what's most important and what their next steps are when it comes to their career. She holds a Master's in Counselling Psychology. Before coming to York, she worked as a career counsellor at the YMCA, a program manager for ADLERCentre and a psychotherapist in private practice.

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source of your socio-political commentary on the evening news? If so, it’s safe to say your experience in schools and society is probably much different from the class of 2012. Shift gears for an insightful, engaging and entertaining chat about preparing the ‘next great generation’ for college and university life.

Presented by Chris McGrath and Tony Conte.

Chris is the Assistant Dean, Student Affairs and a PhD student in higher education at the University of Toronto. He has published research in the areas of student over-involvement and leadership development and service provision for diverse populations in the post-secondary setting.

Tony is the Manager of the new Student Information and the Advising Centre at Ryerson University. Over the course of his career he has worked in Student Affairs, Human Rights and in Human Resources and travelled across the country speaking on diversity, leadership and motivation.

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This session will explore self-harm behaviours and mental illness in young people. Learn about the symptoms, resources for support and what you can do to support students with mental illness.

Presented by Dr. Terry McQuaid. Terry works as a Clinical Psychologist in a private practice. In addition, she holds positions at York University and the Traumatology Institute (Canada) as an Instructor and Clinician. Her clinical interests include trauma, substance use, and disabilities within disadvantaged groups.

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The landscape for financial assistance is constantly changing. Students and parents are overwhelmed by the complexity of financial planning for university. This session will provide an overview on how to access university-based funding, government assistance programs (i.e. OSAP), the Student Access Guarantee and the impact of the 2008-2009 budget announcement on student aid in Canada.

Presented by Angelique Saweczko, Associate Director, Scholarships & Bursaries, York University. Angelique has currently pursuing a Masters of Education, Memorial University and is a graduate of Kinesiology & Health Sciences at York University.

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The Disability Service Offices for Universities and Colleges facilitate and/or provide academic support for students with disabilities. This interactive session will discuss the process for accessing services at a post-secondary institution, the responsibilities of the student and the supports that are available for students with disabilities.

Presented by Donna Grau and Eunice Lund-Lucas.
Donna is the Coordinator of the Learning Assistance Centre at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Donna received her Master of Education degree along with a Science degree from the University of Manitoba.

Eunice has been the Manager of the Disability Services Office at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. She has served for the Inter-university Disability Issues Association and managed of one of the Learning Opportunities Task Force’s pilot projects.

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This interactive session on gang awareness will discuss understanding graffiti, pop culture representations of gangs and common identifiers. It will speak to creating healthy relationships between youth, the police and their communities and advocate the understanding and use of technology like the Internet and cell phones in a positive ways, including societal violence prevention strategies.

Presented by Police Constable Scott Mills. Scott is the Toronto Crime Stoppers School Officer and Legal Graffiti Art Coordinator for the Toronto Police Service. In addition, he volunteers with NOtoGANGS.org. (Ontario Gang Investigators Association). He lectures on Using the Internet as a Violence Prevention Tool.

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This round table session will address the points of view of the guidance community as well as the liaison community as it relates to the planning, coordinating, and implementation of the mini UIP. It will provide for an opportunity to dialogue about strategies to make the upcoming recruitment season easier and of greater benefit to both communities and students alike.

Moderated by Mike Houston, Director, Liaison & Student Recruitment, University of Windsor

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University Path programs increase access to postsecondary education by engaging students and their families and making the university a familiar part of their community. Programs help students identify their strengths and allow them to experience campus life while still in elementary or high school, providing the impetus to overcome systemic barriers due to race, ethnicity, gender, or social or economic class.

Presented by Jackie Robinson and Heather Doyle.
Jackie Robinson has been a teacher, counsellor and administrator for many years. She currently coordinates the Westview Partnership between the York Faculty of Education and TDSB. The Partnership's mandate is to increase access to post-secondary for students in the Jane-Finch community.

Heather Doyle is the Coordinator of Academic Advising at Lakehead University. She has her Masters of Education degree in Counselling Psychology from Memorial University and is a certified counsellor with the Canadian Counselling Association.

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For students entering postsecondary education the options to add an international component to their studies are growing. Progress is occurring in internationalization of curriculums and on the development of on-campus activities for the majority of students who will remain at home. Presenters will review current information on the programs available at Ontario universities.

Presented by Gilles Breton and Beth Alaksa.
Gilles Breton, PhD, is the Associate Vice-President Academic (International) at the University of Ottawa. His publications focus on internationalization strategies for universities and analyze the issues universities are facing in the context of increasing globalization.

Beth Alaksa is the Coordinator, International Mobilty, at York International, York University and has been involved in international educational programs for almost 20 years. York has more than 100 exchange programs available for students and growing alternate international educational programs both on and off campus.

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There is a widespread belief that depression in adolescence and young adulthood is "normal" — that moodiness and "the blues" are almost a rite of passage. To some extent this may be true, yet it can mask the fact that eight to ten percent of teens suffer from true clinical depression. Dispel the myths, learn what to look for and what resources are available.

Presented by Linda Conn, MSW, RSW. Linda is a staff social worker in the Youth Division of Psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. She assesses adolescents diagnosed with a major mental illness and provides counseling to them and their families. Linda is also the coordinator of the Fresh Start Adolescent Day Treatment Programme.

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