"I have been very fortunate to be mentored by Indigenous artists, colleagues and friends over the last twenty-five years. Their mentorship has shaped my work as a cultural ally, and I cherish their continued guidance navigating urgent issues of Indigenous rights, truth and reconciliation, and the collective necessity of land stewardship in climate change. Onondaga […]
"There are a couple of ways being a queer neuroscientist affects not only my research but my pedagogy. For me, its important to just be out there, capital O out there and be a face for the students. I teach one of the core courses in Kinesiology, so I teach between 700 - 800 undergraduates […]
"I grew up in Toronto, right next to High Park. Curious and creative, I gained my deep appreciation for nature spending time at Lake Ontario, riding my bike throughout High Park, making visual art from natural and recycled materials, and spending time in Muskoka, Algonquin Park, and Haliburton. I also grew up riding transit and […]
Megan Côté uses Scholarship as a Springboard to Change York had a chance to catch up with the dynamic Megan Côté, about to graduate with a BBA from the Schulich School of Business. Megan has the distinction of receiving the Yamana Gold First Generation Award for York students with high academic merit, who are also […]
“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 […]