FGS is excited to host its inaugural “2023 Fostering Black Scholars - Scholarship Success Workshop” for incoming and current graduate students. The event will be held on Monday, August 28th and is being hosted by FGS’ Scholarship and Award Team, led by Richolette Freckleton, Associate Director, Research, Scholarships & Awards.
Attendees can gain an inside view on how to successfully complete award applications and leverage all the resources available externally and internally at York. The goal of this workshop is to share new funding opportunities to support Black scholars, such as the Bennett Family Graduate Scholarship for Black and Indigenous Students as well as other scholarships and awards. Additionally, the workshop will cover resources and guides available for developing successful grant proposals, writing reference letters for scholarship applications, and making the overall application stand out.
Students can also find out about the self-identification forms and questionnaires implemented by FGS. The optional self-identification questions in award applications are important to determine eligibility for funding opportunities targeting specific equity-deserving groups and implement funding equalization measures. Students can include relevant information in the special circumstances form on their applications to explain any personal circumstances (including gender, race, diversity, ability, sexuality, health disparities, educational access, etc.) that have played a role in shaping their path in order to allow for a fair assessment of their research productivity.
Students would not want to miss the featured speakers including seasoned Black faculty members: Dr. Andrea Davis, Professor, Dept. of Humanities; Dr. Jude Dzevela Kong, Professor, Dept. of Math & Statistics; and Dr. Tokunbo Ojo, Associate Dean, Students, Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Attendees can also gain advice from their colleagues, and other graduate scholars who hold prestigious awards including Joseph Agyapong, Susan Mann Dissertation Awardee (2023), PhD student in Mechanical Engineering; Balikisu Osman, Vanier Scholar (2020), PhD student in Environmental Studies; and Danielle Washington, CIHR CGSD Awardee (2023), PhD student in Nursing.
The panelists will speak on their personal experiences, scholarship successes, and how to successfully leverage all the resources available. The panels will address common questions that are important to consider such as: What challenges did you face when completing your scholarship application? Who did you lean on for support? What resources did you find most helpful? What do you know now that you wish you knew before you started the program? And, more!
The online workshop creates a collegial space and aims to bring people together to share experiences, learn from one another, and support each other’s efforts. Through this event, incoming and current graduate students can start building and keep developing a support network at York University. We encourage faculty members and staff to share this initiative with their incoming and current graduate students. For more details and registration, please visit our web page.
Update: This session has been recorded and can now be viewed on our YouTube channel: FGS Webinar: Fostering Black Scholars (Scholarship Success Workshop).