Black Graduation

Triumph and resilience: U of T’s Black graduates celebrated at virtual Black Grad event

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:51:52 +0000

Triumph and resilience: U of T’s Black graduates celebrated at virtual Black Grad event

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 06/30/2021 - 12:51

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More than 60 Black grads were celebrated at this year’s student-run Black Graduation event, which was held virtually due to the pandemic (photo courtesy of Cindy Njoki Kamau)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Our Community

Black Grad

Black Graduation

African Studies

Faculty of Law

Women and Gender Studies

Wearing a stole that read “Black Grad Class of 2021” around his neck, Stephane Martin Demers took a deep breath and put his fingers to the piano keys.

The recent graduate of the ��Ƶ’s Faculty of Music opened the fifth annual Black Graduation event this week with Sonata in E Minor by Florence Price, the first African American female composer whose work was performed by a major symphony.

Martin Demers says he chose to play the sonata at the student-run celebration, which took place virtually June 26, because it’s reminiscent of African American spirituals, with emotional peaks and valleys.

“I think the form that it takes is crucial to the message that the ceremony is trying to convey or deliver,” Martin Demers said after the event. “The ceremony is about triumph, overcoming struggles, hardship and resilience in the Black community – all the difficulties that have come our way that we’ve had to surmount.”

Martin Demers, who will be attending law school at York University in the fall, was one of the more than 60 Black undergraduate students in programs ranging from human biology to law whose accomplishments were celebrated at this year’s Black Grad.

Counting friends, family and Black faculty and staff, the online event attracted more than 150 people. Appearing in front of a background of white and gold balloons and streamers, organizer Cindy Njoki Kamau said resilience was an obvious theme for this year’s ceremony.

“The 2021 Black graduating class has overcome racialized adversity in the classroom and more broadly on campus,” she said.

“What is even more astonishing is that, despite these barriers, this set of graduates has also managed to reach an important milestone while navigating the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge that cannot be understated.”

In Kamau’s case, the closure of international borders due to the pandemic made it impossible to see her family in Kenya. Her mom Muthoni, who tuned into the ceremony from a time zone seven hours ahead, texted her daughter during the event – but Kamau tried not to read her messages to avoid becoming too emotional.

Kamau took the opportunity to thank Black faculty and staff for their advice, mentorship and help with networking.

“Thank you for being a positive representation of Black bodies belonging in academia along with being mentors, friends and, to some, parental figures to our students graduating today,” she said.

Marieme Lo, an associate professor of women and gender studies and the director of the African studies program, congratulated students and led a rollcall of graduates from each of U of T’s three campuses.

Keynote speaker Randell Adjei, Ontario’s first poet laureate, picked up on the theme of resilience in his address. He encouraged graduates to look for the “seed of opportunity” in adversity. “A seed has the potential to turn into just about anything,” he said.

He closed with a reading of his piece, “The Dash,” which focuses on living life to the fullest in the space between the dates on one’s gravestone. “When your time comes and your soul is sent, what will the dash on your tombstone represent?” he said.

Rebecca Barclay Nguinambaye, a graduate of the Faculty of Law who will be articling at a firm in Vancouver, watched the ceremony from B.C. with her parents. Barclay Nguinambaye, the only Black law student in this year’s graduating class, was one of the co-founders of Black Future Lawyers, a collaboration between the Faculty of Law, Black Law Students Association, Black alumni and the broader legal profession that aims to support Black undergraduates aspiring to go to law school. “The administration has been good to work with, and they have really been working on it,” Barclay Nguinambaye said.

Although representation of Black students is improving in key fields through initiatives like Black Future Lawyers and similar programs at other faculties, Barclay Nguinambaye says it was sometimes easy to forget there were other Black students on U of T’s vast campus.

“Sometimes you feel like you’re carrying the torch for everyone,” she said. “It’s just really affirming to see there are Black students in so many faculties and areas of study – even in artificial intelligence.

“We’re making our way all over the place and lifting each other up.”

‘Black excellence on full display’: Black Grad returns to U of T with virtual event

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 14:36:19 +0000

‘Black excellence on full display’: Black Grad returns to U of T with virtual event

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/17/2021 - 10:36

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Cindy Njoki Kamau and Debora Oresajo are members of this year's student-run Black Graduation organizing team (photo by Folasade Debora Oresajo)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Music

Victoria College

In recent weeks, dozens of Black students graduating from the ��Ƶ received a special package in the mail: a kente cloth stole with the words “U of T Black Grad” emblazoned on one end and “Class of 2021” on the other.

Organizers of this year’s Black Graduation – a student-run event that celebrates the achievements of the ��Ƶ’s Black graduates – shipped the stoles as far away as London, England.

The fifth annual Black Grad will be held on Zoom on June 26, three days after U of T’s virtual spring convocation. It will feature a keynote performance by Ontario’s first poet laureate.

Lead organizer Cindy Njoki Kamau says the stoles are fixtures of events celebrating Black graduates at Canadian and U.S. universities – and she wanted to be sure U of T’s graduates had a physical reminder of their accomplishments.

“Out of anything I think they’re the biggest symbol of being a Black graduate in North America,” said Kamau, who is also the president of U of T’s Black Students’ Association (BSA) and a political science specialist and African Studies student at Victoria College in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

She added that, on top of the regular demands that come with earning a university degree, Black students often deal with the added stress of microaggressions and a lack of representation in the classroom.

“Seeing the stole worn, it symbolizes that, despite all the barriers – systemic, social, everything – you’ve gone through it, you’ve persevered and graduated.”

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In a bid to support local businesses during the pandemic, the student association sourced the stoles from Afroish, a Black woman-owned business in Brampton, Ont., Kamau said. In addition to Kamau, the Black Grad organizing team includes: Debora Oresajo, Bianka Okine, Massoma Kisob, Adriana Williams, Saron Tecle, Etienne Oshinowo, Yasmin Draman and Venus Asamoah.

So far, more than 85 graduating students from U of T confirmed they will attend Black Grad, which was cancelled last year because of COVID-19. Their photos will appear alongside personal quotations in a digital yearbook that will be sent to graduating students after the event. The theme of this year’s event is resilience.

“More than any other class of graduates, I think, honestly, resilience is what has gotten us through school in the midst of a pandemic,” Kamau said.

Randell Adjei, a spoken word artist who was named the province’s first poet laureate in April, will address the Class of 2021 at the virtual event. Adjei founded R.I.S.E. (Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere), a youth-led initiative to help young and emerging artists express themselves positively. Last year, prior to Canada’s first reported case of COVID-19, Adjei opened for Barack Obama before a crowd of 6,000 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

In a recent interview with Global News, the Ghanian born Adjei spoke about how he learned resilience through his upbringing in Scarborough. “You think about people like The Weeknd, Shamier Anderson, Stephan James that have come out of Scarborough,” he said. “I think Scarborough has taught me about being resilient. Understand that you may be the underdog, but use that to propel you forward. You know, don’t see that as a crutch. I think, if anything, it can be a trampoline for us.”

This year’s Black Grad event will also feature performances by graduating students: Destiny Mae Ramos-Alleyne, Stephane Martin Demers and Petra Alfred.

Martin Demers, a pianist graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music, will be performing Sonata in E Minor by Florence Price, who is known as the first African American composer whose music was performed by a major symphony.

“During the Black Graduation Ceremony, Black excellence will be on full display, affirming our great ability to thrive and prosper – whatever we pursue, wherever we go, and whoever we become,” Martin Demers says.

Family, friends and invited U of T faculty will be attending the virtual ceremony to cheer on the graduating class. Kamau says her mother, Muthoni, will be staying up late into the night to watch from Kenya.

“I wish I could see her face enjoying this celebration with me,” Kamau said. “She’s going to cry for sure.”

‘A sense of belonging’: Third annual Black Graduation event to be held at U of T Mississauga

perry.king — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 21:20:16 +0000

‘A sense of belonging’: Third annual Black Graduation event to be held at U of T Mississauga

perry.king Thu, 06/06/2019 - 17:20

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Black Graduation, a student-run event, will take place at U of T Mississauga on June 28 with U of T alumna and Member of Parliament Celina Caesar-Chavannes delivering a keynote presentation (photo by Geoff Vendeville)

Topic

Rotman School of Management

U of T Mississauga

With convocation now under way, students at the ��Ƶ are putting the finishing touches on the annual Black Graduation event, a student-run celebration that follows the university's official convocation ceremonies.

After two years of being held at Hart House on the downtown Toronto campus, this year's Black Graduation will be held, for the first time ever, at U of T Mississauga on June 28. The keynote speaker is Celina Caesar-Chavannes, a U of T alumna and Member of Parliament for Whitby.

The celebration, similar to Black Graduation events at Harvard University and Columbia University, is an opportunity for students to toast their achievements and network with staff, faculty and honoured guests. The event also celebrates students who completed U of T's Transitional Year Programme, which helps students acquire the necessary qualifications for university admittance.

Kalkidan Alemayehu, one of the event’s organizers, says the decision was made to relocate Black Graduation to make it more of a tri-campus event.

“We didn’t want it to be happening on just one campus,” she says, adding the event could be held at U of T Scarborough next year.

More information about the Black Graduation event can be found here

In addition to Caesar-Chavannes, attendees will hear from U of T faculty members, staff and alumni. That includes: Kofi Hope, a senior policy advisor at the Wellesley Institute and U of T strategic consultant and visiting scholar; Sandy Hudson, a communications specialist and vice-chair of the Black Legal Action Centre; and Zanana Akande, who was the first Black woman elected to Ontario’s legislature and the first to serve in cabinet.

Hope, Hudson and Akande will also present awards to students during the event that recognize excellence in research, entrepreneurship, outstanding athletic achievement and in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. The winners will all have recieved degrees at either the undergraduate or graduate level.

Black Graduation is a great way to make connections with the larger Black community, says Alemayehu.

“Having Black Grad, it gives people a sense of belonging,” she says, adding that it can make the transition to post-graduation life easier.

“If you see somebody that looks like you, who talks like you, you’d feel more comfortable and you’d feel like you belong, and that [that could] motivate you to do better.”

#DisplayYourPride and Convocation 2019: Check out these June events

Romi Levine — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 16:03:16 +0000

#DisplayYourPride and Convocation 2019: Check out these June events

Romi Levine Mon, 06/03/2019 - 12:03

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From marching in the parade to flag raising ceremonies on campus, there are plenty of Pride events to participate in this month (Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Isabel Armiento

Topic

City & Culture

Black Graduation

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Convocation

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

Hart House

LGBTQ

Pride

Rotman School of Management

Sexual & Gender Diversity Office

Sustainability

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

June is a time when ��Ƶ students can celebrate academic achievement and student diversity.

The month kicks off with spring convocation, which recognizes students’ accomplishments and experiences, as well as their promising futures.

But don't worry if you don't happen to be graduating. There’s still plenty of reasons to return to campus, including university-wide celebrations of U of T’s LGBTQ community for Pride Month.

Whether you’re a grad, part of the queer and allied community, or just a curious student looking for exciting events on campus, be sure to check out all that U of T has to offer during the month of June.

June 3

Convocation begins today! Check out U of T’s convocation hub for ceremony dates and details, as well as graduation checklists, stories about graduating students, FAQs and more.

June 4

Find out what we can learn from the making of a book by examining its materiality, script and preservation with Uncovering the Book: An exhibition in honour of Greta Golick. This exhibition on the art of bookbinding at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library will run until Aug. 16.

June 5

Explore questions of representation and identity through a multimedia exhibition about intersectionality and diaspora. Artist Abdi Osman’s Variations in Black, Queer, and Otherwise runs at the U of T Art Centre until July 27.

June 6

Join U of T’s LGBTQ students and allies at the downtown Toronto campus to watch the Pride and Trans Flag Raising Ceremony.

You can also show your support at the U of T Mississauga campus’s Pride and Trans Flag Unfurling Ceremony.

June 7

Bring your friends and family to enjoy the summer weather with drinks and barbecue at the U of T Pride Pub. Located in the Hart House quad, the celebration begins at 4:30 p.m. and runs until 1 a.m., transforming from a community fair to a dance party under the stars.

June 8

Catch Tong Lam’s Moving Parts, Moving People, a photography exhibition that spotlights China’s outdoor film movement and exposes a culture of propaganda. The event is hosted by the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in conjunction with the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival.

June 10

Update your urban innovation skills through the Urban Leadership eXchange. Attend the U of T Mississauga event June 10-11 to hear talks by keynote speakers including Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie and Acting Principal of U of T Mississauga Amrita Daniere, and walk away with a completion certificate.

June 11

Celebrate National Indigenous History Month at U of T Mississauga with a screening of Indian Horse, a powerful film that exposes the abuse and trauma inflicted by the Canadian residential school system. You can also catch Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance on June 19 as part of the film series. Each film starts at 5 p.m., but viewers can arrive early to participate in a smudging ceremony and stay afterwards for a discussion moderated by U of T Mississauga’s Indigenous advisor, followed by a group reflection.

Join CBC Radio’s Quirks and Quarks host Bob McDonald for a moderated discussion on the topic “Should we have humans in space?” Astronaut Chris Hadfield and U of T’s Renée Hložek of the own Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics will take part in the talk. Register for free online.

June 12

The U of T Sustainability Innovation Prize is awarding $15,000 in prizes to those with the most innovative ideas. Watch the finalists’ pitch competition and see who will go home with the accolades.

Support the U of T Mississauga Indigenous community by attending Giizhiitaa – Coming Full Circle. This event showcases and celebrates the accomplishments of students and Peele youth through their involvement in the Indigenous Spirit Journey Program – an experiential learning initiative centred on Indigenous philosophical and cultural teachings.

June 13

There are no limits on your creativity today. Decorate your office, wear rainbow clothing and exhibit your colourful artwork in a tri-campus effort to #DisplayYourPride. The downtown Toronto campus is hosting a #DisplayYourPride group photo at Hart House. U of T Mississauga encourages you to share photos of your creativity online. And U of T Scarborough will spread awareness of the day along with free ice cream.

June 14

Hosted by the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, U.K.-based Professor Daniel Bausch explores the implications of, and possible responses to, infectious disease outbreaks in his lecture “Outbreak Response: Challenges and Opportunities in a Rapidly Changing Landscape.”

June 18

Enjoy the gorgeous June weather with a Nature Walk and Talk hosted by U of T Mississauga in partnership with the campus’s Indigenous Centre. Led by U of T Mississauga Indigenous Advisor Cat Criger, this event is a perfect opportunity to visit the scenic trails while learning how to approach the changing season with Indigenous philosophies of growth and introspection.

Stumped about what to wear for the upcoming Pride Parade? The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office can help solve your sartorial problems with its upcoming Pride T-shirt Painting Party at 21 Sussex Ave.

June 21

Kick off Pride weekend right by attending the first of the major festivities. Meet at 642 Church Street at 7:50 p.m. to march with the U of T contingent in the Trans March.

There will also be a pride flag celebration taking place at U of T Scarborough.

June 22

Continue showing your support for Pride by marching with U of T in the Dyke March. Meet at 642 Church St. at 1:50 p.m. to participate.

June 23

Be part of the biggest event of Pride Month by joining U of T for the 2019 Pride Parade. Show your support for the school’s – and the city’s – LGBTQ community.

June 25

Visit the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery at Hart House for a tour of Carrie Mae Weems’ exhibition Heave. Running until July 27 with tours available on Tuesdays, this installation intersects sensationalist depictions of modern violence with histories of conflict.

June 26

Experts are asking important ethical, political and cultural questions about emerging technology and the ways in which we communicate at Media Ethics: Human Ecology in a Connected World, the 20th annual convention of the Media Ecology Association.

June 27

Hear Mariana Mazzucato speak about her book The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy, which outlines the problems with contemporary capitalism. Held at the Rotman School of Management, admission to this event includes a copy of the book.

June 28

U of T recognizes and awards the achievements of Black students at the third annual U of T Black Graduation, located at U of T Mississauga. Friends and family are welcome.

Take a break from convocation with this year’s Grad Escape – an improv class at Second City. Sign up to learn new skills that you didn’t receive in lectures.

U of T in focus: The year in pictures

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0000

U of T in focus: The year in pictures

geoff.vendeville Wed, 12/19/2018 - 00:00

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Mason Godkewitsch, 8, makes shadow puppets on the walls of the “cell cave” in the student lounge in the McLennan building on the downtown Toronto campus (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Topic

Canada Research Chairs

Faculty & Staff

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Research & Innovation

STEM

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

University College

In the lab, classrooms and at a variety of events on the three ��Ƶ campuses, U of T News photographers captured moments that made this year special.

Staff photographer Nick Iwanyshyn selected some of the highlights of 2018.

Axel Guenther, scientific director of the Centre for Microfluidic Systems, inspects microfluidic devices in a cleanroom. This fall, U of T partnered with Canada’s National Research Council to create a national innovation hub focused on microfluidics (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Students line up before making a grand entrance at the second student-led Black graduation ceremony in June at Hart House. In 2017, U of T became the first Canadian university to host a Black graduation (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland looks on during a service of remembrance at the ��Ƶ's downtown campus (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, who came to U of T from Harvard University to become a Canada 150 Research Chair, delivered the keynote address at the ��Ƶ-Tsinghua University Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum in May (photo by Chris Sorensen)

Elspeth Arbow, an undergraduate student with cystic fibrosis recovering from her second double-lung transplant, gets ready for physiotherapy at Toronto General Hospital on May 4 (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Wearing matching maple leaf socks, former U.S. vice-president Al Gore and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt chat on the main stage at the Elevate technology conference in Toronto, on Sept. 26 (photo by Chris Sorensen)

Your mind isn't playing tricks on you. Students go up the stairs at U of T Scarborough (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Kirsty Duncan, minister of science and sport, watches a demonstration during a Nov. 13 announcement about new and renewed chairs in the Canada Research Chairs program, including 21 at U of T (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Cranes in the colours of the rainbow hang from a window at Hart House's reading room in June to mark Pride (photo by Romi Levine)

Students gather to study and chat at U of T Mississauga (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Enakshi Shah, who earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at U of T, found there were lots of opportunities after graduating (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

A girl adds to a poster about what it means to be a woman in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at Science Rendezvous on May 12 (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville).

Hundreds of people in a rainbow of colours filled the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport at the ��Ƶ for the Indigenous Studies Students' Union's powwow on March 11 (photo by Laura Pedersen)

For Remembrance Day and the 100^th anniversary of the armistice ending the First World War, U of T News staff photographer Nick Iwanyshyn juxtaposed archival campus photos with present-day pictures at the same location. Above, a Sopwith Camel plane appears in front of University College in 1918 (photo illustration includes a U of T Archives photograph)

Members of the U of T community gather outside of University College on Oct. 30 for a vigil for victims of the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh (photo by Romi Levine)

Astrophysicist Matt Russo makes music using the movements of objects in space. The music was featured in Our Musical Universe, an audio-focused planetarium show that debuted at U of T in January (photo by Romi Levine)

Drummers welcome delegates during a Spiritual Opening Ceremony for the Parliament of the World’s Religions around the Sacred Fire in Olympic Park, on Nov. 2 (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Rose Patten, centre, U of T's 34th chancellor, was installed in a ceremony in November (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

At the 25th annual Bring Our Children to Work Day on April 26, kids got to see a soda geyser made of Mentos and cola spraying 12 feet above the courtyard near Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

U of T students who crushed it in 2018

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 18:15:14 +0000

U of T students who crushed it in 2018

geoff.vendeville Tue, 12/18/2018 - 13:15

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The Indigenous Studies Students' Union held a powwow in the Goldring Centre in March. Hundreds of people showed up to celebrate Indigenous communities, cultures and languages (photo by Laura Pedersen)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

It would be difficult to overstate the hard work and achievement of ��Ƶ students this year. They literally went to the ends of the Earth.

Matt Young, a PhD student in astronomy, returned from a two-month-long trip to Antarctica, where he helped upgrade a camera on a one-tonne telescope at a research station. The instrument observes the cosmic microwave background – electromagnetic radiation left by the Big Bang – that offers clues about the early universe.

Closer to home, the accomplishments of U of T students were equally impressive. They overcame difficulties to succeed in their studies, held events enriching life on campus and inspired others with their dedication to learning.

Here's just a small sample of what they were up to this year:

The U of T students who kept up the tradition of Black graduation

Students prepare to make a grand entrance at Black graduation in Hart House's Great Hall (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Black graduations, or commencements, have become a fixture of university calendars south of the border, including at Harvard and Stanford. In 2017, U of T students made history by organizing what was believed to be Canada's first Black graduation ceremony.

This year, Ayaan Abdulle, Matthew Campbell-Williams, Anyika Mark and a dedicated team of volunteers carried the torch. They invited Dionne Brand, a past Toronto poet laureate and winner of the Governor General’s Award who received an honorary degree from U of T, to deliver a guest lecture. And the class of '18 toasted their accomplishments in style, filing into Hart House's Great Hall to the tune of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”

From a Tibetan refugee camp to U of T Dentistry

The road to U of T was a tough one for Khamsum Wangdu. He and his brother grew up in Nepal in a Tibetan refugee camp. They were training to be dentists, but before they could take their licensing exams, the 2015 earthquake struck, killing 9,000 people and injuring 22,000.

Amid assisting with medical and relief efforts, they learned that Canadian authorities had fast-tracked their family’s sponsorship application. They were both accepted to dentistry schools in Canada – Khamsum at U of T and his brother Kunsang at Dalhousie University. Khamsum got into an accelerated program for internationally trained dentists and is due to graduate in 2020.

“Being accepted into the ��Ƶ is not simply a dream come true, it is the chance of a lifetime,” he said.

The student who made his voice heard

Behzad Farkhari performed on the big Bollywood stage over the summer (photo via Facebook)

Behzad Farkhari, in neuroscience and psychology at U of T Scarborough, overcame his boyhood shyness to perform Bollywood songs. This summer, he got to perform on the biggest stage yet of his career on Dil Hai Hindustani, the Indian equivalent of American Idol. He placed ninth among the 21,000 musicians who auditioned for the reality show.

The undergraduate who made the most of university and inspired others to do the same

Allie Sinclair proved good grades don't have to come at the cost of everything else. She was involved in research from her very first week at U of T, landing a position in a psychology lab. As an undergraduate, she took the stage as part of the Victoria College Drama Society, went for hikes, mentored other students and even co-wrote a paper that was accepted for publication in a scholarly journal.

She graduated last year at the top of her class with a GPA of 4.0. But before leaving U of T for graduate school in the U.S., she and fellow top students from previous years shared some advice.

The student who was the picture of perseverance

Elspeth Arbow during a physiotherapy session at Toronto General Hospital after her double-lung transplant (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

There was no stopping Elspeth Arbow, even when she became so short of breath that she struggled to get to class. The cinema studies student at Innis College kept up with her studies and won a student leadership award despite cystic fibrosis, which sapped her energy and required her to undergo a double-lung transplant for the second time in 10 years. She recovered from the operation and began her final semester this fall.

The scholarship winner who was the first in her Kenyan village to study abroad

Emmanuela Alimlim grew up in a rural Kenyan village of about 100 people, in family of 12 kids. She was the first person from her village to study abroad when she came to U of T to take economics on a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship.

In Toronto, she overcame the stresses of living thousands of kilometres away from home, in a place with a very different climate and customs, to contribute meaningfully to life on campus. She founded the Eastern African Students' Association and a non-profit that supports the education of girls and women back in Kenya.

U of T's newest Rhodes Scholar

Edil Ga'al made friends and found supportive staff at U of T's Victoria College (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

At U of T, students are encouraged to engage with the world. Edil Ga'al lived up to those expectations and then some.

African studies and political science were the subjects that spoke to her. The Victoria College student explored them in the classroom and beyond, completing an internship at a human-rights NGO in Uganda and making two trips to Rwanda.

In December, she was one of only 11 Canadian students to receive a Rhodes Scholarship to continue their education at Oxford. She hopes to contribute to discussions on peace, stability and justice as an academic or fieldworker. “I know it’s a lofty goal, but you kind of have to dream big,” she said.

The engineering student who had a hand in an Oscar-winning film

There are no small parts in a film. The same could be said for the work behind the scenes. Charlie Katrycz, in mechanical engineering, contributed to Guillermo del Toro's and The Shape of Water's Oscar glory in 2018 by helping to build the tank for the movie's amphibian man.

Outstanding Indigenous students who organized a powwow and gave back to their communities

Dancers at the 2018 powwow at the Goldring Centre organized by the Indigenous Studies Students' Union (photo by Laura Pedersen)

Indigenous students organized the first powwow on campus in 20 years in 2017. This year, the expected attendance was so great that the event was moved to the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Hundreds of people turned out, some hailing from northern Ontario, to celebrate Indigenous students, language and culture. Students, staff and faculty danced across the gym floor together.

Earlier this year, two Indigenous students with an impressive track record inside the classroom and beyond were recognized with the President's Award for Outstanding Indigenous Student of the Year. Julie Blair returned to school after a 20-year hiatus to earn a 3.9 GPA and lead Indigenous committees and clubs. Meanwhile, PhD student Rebecca Beaulne-Stuebing studied the untold histories of Anishinaabe-led schools in relation to Indigenous activist movements.

The quadruple threat

Abigail Whitney operates with the same 24 hours a day as the rest of us, but she’s found the time to be a student, actor, model and director. Whitney, a University College student, was the face of a national ad campaign for Sephora, she appeared in CoverGirl and Vogue Italia and made her directorial debut with the UC Follies' show, Les Frères (The Brothers) by Sandra A. Daley-Sharif.

The scientist who went to the bottom of the Earth

Matt Young took a selfie at the South Pole while on a research trip during his PhD studies at U of T (photo courtesy of Matt Young)

A research station at the South Pole bears the names of two legendary early 20^th-century explorers who ventured into the icy unknown. Matt Young's adventure to the South Pole began last winter. He took five flights over two weeks to reach a research station, where he helped upgrade a camera that surveys the sky at microwave frequencies to reveal the cosmic microwave background. The instrument produces a snapshot of the universe as it was less than 400,000 years after the Big Bang.

Young evidently didn't have his fill of fun – he returned to Antarctica this fall.

The serial-killer researcher who connected the dots and made headlines

Sasha Reid has an unusual academic interest: serial killers and their motivations. She has spreadsheets filled with the names of series killers and their modus operandi. After seeing a pattern in missing persons in Toronto, she came to suspect there was a serial killer at large in Toronto and shared her theory with the police. Her suspicions appeared to be confirmed when police later arrested a man in connection with the deaths of eight men with ties to the gay village. Reid made national and international news.

The Nigerian students wh o give African expats a taste of home

(photo courtesy of Paul Borkwood/CBC Licensing)

This was a big year for Stephen Ayeni and Naafiu Mohammed, U of T Mississauga students from Nigeria who met in math class in 2015. They missed the cuisine from home and figured that other African students did too. That was the impetus for their e-commerce site, Afrocart, which offers cereals, snacks, flour, spices and other items, including a batter dispenser to make Nigerian puff-puffs and rock buns.

'Young, gifted and Black': U of T students celebrate second annual Black Graduation

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 04:00:00 +0000

'Young, gifted and Black': U of T students celebrate second annual Black Graduation

geoff.vendeville Thu, 06/28/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

Oluwatobi Edun, a chemical engineering student and former president of the Nigerian Students' Association, walks into Hart House with the Black Graduation class of 2018 (photos by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Topic

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

U of T Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

Women and Gender Studies

With former Black Students' Association President Sasha Henry singing “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” approximately 70 Black students at the ��Ƶ walked into Hart House's Great Hall Tuesday to celebrate their journey through university.

The students came from across U of T's three campuses to toast their achievements at the second annual Black Graduation event. The event, put on by U of T students alongside convocation, also celebrated students who completed U of T's Transitional Year Program, which helps students acquire the qualifications for university over eight months.

Matthew Campbell-Williams, one of the organizers, says one of the most emotional parts of the evening was when they called the graduates to the stage, one-by-one, to accept their certificate and Black Grad Class of 2018 scarf.

Campbell-Williams graduates in November and will walk the stage himself next summer.

U of T faculty and staff were also in attendance to show their support, including Rinaldo Walcott, director of the Women & Gender Studies Institute, and John Monahan, the warden of Hart House.

The keynote speaker was Dionne Brand, a writer, academic, activist and filmmaker who has published 18 books. Her collection of poetry Land to Light On won the Governor General's award. (Brand, a U of T alumna, received an honorary degree from U of T earlier this month.)