Hailey Parliament

“Our single-office approach allows us to create a community in which students and staff members feel welcomed and engaged,” says Kaye Francis, manager of the FCO. “In the past 20 years, we have been successful in creating awareness around family issues and proving that these issues are important.

“We’ve shown many families they are not alone in their challenges, and that they can be successful in what they choose to do.”

Professor Judith Taylor of women and gender studies and sociology has used the FCO's services, including the Early Learning Centre.

“Much of the counselling folks get from the FCO is not as much therapeutic as bureaucratic: how to fill out forms, how to plan for worst and best case scenarios, who to call for myriad services,” says Taylor. “This kind of advice democratizes life changes, making it possible for those who are not secure in the face of major life changes, or reading through policies, to make the best decisions.”

It's one thing to say we support working families, and another to dedicate staff to helping families get the advice and resources they need, says Taylor.

“I personally use the babysitter list and have met students through it whom I and my kids loved and with whom we are now in close touch still, even after they have graduated and begun their working lives. Even this small service makes our campus more human. We are in a big city, yet we can connect in this very personal way. The family care office has extended my family.”

Last year, Francis says, the office handled more than 1,750 individual cases, and welcomed more than 2,100 people to events and seminars.

“It can be very challenging to balance family life and student responsibilities,” says former student Janine Manning, adding that a family basketball clinic organized by the FCO was a hit with her son. “Those of us who need support to balance both areas of our lives have the FCO to turn to for resources and programming.”

The range of services, programs and events organized by the FCO has grown over the years. The University expanded campus child care spaces in 2003 with the addition of the Early Learning Child Care Centre and the Family Resource Centre and, in 2005, a new child care facility opened in Student Family Housing.

Hailey Parlliament is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto.

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Book and Media Studies: where the city is part of the syllabus

sgupta — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 10:25:03 +0000

Book and Media Studies: where the city is part of the syllabus sgupta Mon, 04/27/2015 - 06:25

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(photo by @mushroom_525 #UofT via Facebook)

Hailey Parliament

Author legacy

Hailey Parliament

Features

Undergraduate Students

Undergrad

Teaching

Learning

Faculty of Arts & Science

Education

Toronto: it’s where you’ll find the headquarters of Canada’s national newspapers, television news producers, book publishers and magazines – and where you’ll find a public library system with one of the highest circulation rates in the world.

It’s also where you’ll find the University of Toronto’s Book and Media Studies – one of the fastest-growing programs for undergraduates at U of T. And one that takes full advantage of the city’s ability to become part of the syllabus.

“Toronto is the centre of anglo-Canadian communications media and I want to make use of this opportunity to bring my students closer to the media industry,” says author and journalist Michael Valpy.

Valpy’s BMS course, The Newspaper in Canadian Society, examines the past, present and future of Canadian newspapers while transforming the undergraduate classroom in doing so.

“The thing about the millennial generation is that it's post-institutional and non-deferential. They don't want distance between themselves and what's around them, and they don't want to be forced into someone else's conversation,” Valpy explains.

“We're dealing with new paths that aren't blazed through the paths of textbooks or scholarly articles. John Cruickshank and Phillip Crawley (publishers of the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail respectively) are only a few blocks south of St. Mike's Carr Hall where I teach, and they both want to be understood by young people.”

Valpy has taken students to the Globe and Mail and has brought the Toronto Star editor into the classroom.

“I was excited about this class every week since it was different than most of my humanities classes, in that we had guest speakers – journalists, publishers, big names in media – who spoke to us about what it was really like to work where they do,” says Taylor Lecours, a BMS student and one of Valpy's former students.

“They explained what their jobs entail, and answered our questions about specific issues that we, as undergraduates, were curious about.

“It may sound cliché, but having these guest speakers come in really brought the textbook to life.”

Mark McGowan co-founded the BMS program 11 years ago. Today, he says, more than 1,000 students take BMS courses and the number of those pursuing either a major or minor in the program has grown from 19 to more than 350 students.

“U of T is the perfect home for book and media studies as it consistently ranks in the top 20 schools on the planet and the program itself excels because of U of T’s breadth in all the areas it covers,” McGowan.

BMS students have access to the rare books and collections of one of the top three library systems in North America. (Pictured at right: Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library.)

And the St. Michael’s print room – which McGowan calls the “jewel of the crown in the program” because students can do hands-on work with printing materials – is just steps from their classroom doors.

Just a few steps farther, a whole new set of resources opens up for BMS students to interrogate media in the real world, through internships and research trips.

“We have a reputation for academic excellence so it’s a no-brainer for those companies who want to partner with us. Sony Canada, Rogers and Novalis Publishing House have all worked with our students,” says McGowan.

“The internships allow students to fuse classroom and workplace learning and are especially significant in humanities classes as they enable the students to appreciate the distinct toolset they receive in their classes. Their hands-on experiences remind the students that they are not locked into one way of learning one specific set of ideals.”

Each internship provides unique and interesting material for students to use when it comes time to write their research papers – current examples include production design, marketing and the contemporary return of vinyl.

McGowan and three undergraduate students are working on the project “Finding the 1490” which follows the migration of 1490 migrants who left Ireland during the famine in 1847 and vanished upon arriving in Canada. McGowan and his students meet weekly to do research and will travel to Ireland in June to present their findings pertaining to the lives of these Irish immigrants.

“There are few programs like BMS that combine book history, print culture and mass media the way U of T is able to do through working with the iSchool and other courses on campus. The program trains young men and women to understand how media works; we teach media literacy and what students do with that varies. Some students work in journalism and as communications officers but all of our students graduate with a thorough understanding of the dynamics of human communication.”

For Alex Wichert, an English and BMS student, one of the best things about the program is the way learning takes place.

“I didn’t expect to be asked to come up to the front and act out a script, do yoga, or present my research through song, but it’s the way the learning is conducted in my classes that makes it rewarding.

“It’s not about just memorizing words and regurgitating them onto a page – it’s been about experiencing them. Being able to go to the rare book library and look through a book from 300 years ago, it’s that kind of thing that adds to the learning that happens in the classroom.”

Hailey Parliament is a student at the University of Toronto.

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Social Media Highlights from 2014

sgupta — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:21:09 +0000

Social Media Highlights from 2014 sgupta Fri, 12/19/2014 - 04:21

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Deer in the woods at the University of Toronto Mississauga captured on UTM's Instagram page

Hailey Parliament

Author legacy

Hailey Parliament

Subheadline

Looking back through Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

With more than 222,000 people now following the University of Toronto's Facebook account, it would be hard to capture all of the witty, quirky, heartwarming and inspiring posts or comments shared – mostly from students and alumni – of the past year.

And when you expand the conversation to include Twitter and Instagram, it becomes downright impossible to celebrate all the social media conversations sparking throughout the U of T community at home and around the world. But we wanted to highlight just a few of the memories you shared. So, with sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the conversations, here are some of our favourite social media moments from the past year:

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Frozen? Looking back at convocation 2014 (fall edition)

sgupta — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 16:46:18 +0000

Frozen? Looking back at convocation 2014 (fall edition) sgupta Fri, 11/21/2014 - 11:46

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Inside Convocation Plaza (photo by Roberta Baker, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering)

Kristina Doyle

Hailey Parliament

Author legacy

Hailey Parliament and Kristina Doyle

Features

Convocation

Alumni

Subheadline

U of T 's newest grads share photos and memories

Thousands of students, families and friends gathered this week to celebrate the accomplishments of the University of Toronto’s newest alumni.

And the white marquee known as Convocation Plaza played a particularly prominent role throughout the week, offering visitors a warm welcome along with the usual refreshments, photography and school merchandise from the U of T Bookstore .

“People are elated that they are finally done, everyone has been so nice, and it’s been rewarding to see both graduates and their families from all over the world come through being so excited,” said student Revati Tilokani, a member of the bookstore staff. “Seeing all those graduating has made me excited about school and it’s been great motivation to really study in my classes.

“Seeing everyone’s hard work pay off has been awesome.”

Elina Cook, who received her master's of science in medical biophysics, said U of T’s consistently high performance in rankings led her to pursue studies here. Cook, who recently accepted a research position at Sick Kids Hospital, had some advice for prospective students.

“Take the time to look into the people that are leading the research and science, or whatever you are interested in, and see if you can work with them,” Cook said, “because U of T houses so many people that are doing amazing things on a world scale.”

For Katherine La Rocca, who received her master's of information, convocation marked the end of a journey that was long but fulfilling.

“I did my undergrad at U of T so heading into my master’s I already knew it was a great school,” La Rocca said. “This is also one of the few schools in Canada that has the Faculty of Information and it’s my hometown so I feel connected to the city and the university; it just made sense to come here.

“Looking back, I would reach back to my undergrad to find my favourite moment. There was a particular Latin class that had a good group of people and a great professor and we just had excellent classes, like Winnie the Pooh in Latin.”

Receiving her master's in English felt like a significant accomplishment, said Sarah Powell, and she urged current students to take advantage of every opportunity at U of T.

“Realize how privileged you are to get to go to university,” Powell said, “and even though it's really hard sometimes just try to enjoy every second and take in as much as you can from these brilliant people that you are surrounded with.”

Convocation is just the beginning of the next phase, said Thanaro Rajalculenduan, who received his MSc in molecular phylogenetics

“It feels great to graduate, but I’m not done yet. I want to get my PhD.”

Check out more scenes from fall convocation, captured and shared on social media:

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Convocation 2014: celebrating success, looking to the future

sgupta — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 10:40:47 +0000

Convocation 2014: celebrating success, looking to the future sgupta Mon, 11/17/2014 - 05:40

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Abinaya Balasubramaniam (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Hailey Parliament

Author legacy

Hailey Parliament

Subheadline

More than 4,000 students graduate this week

They spent years studying and researching, put in countless hours volunteering in disadvantaged communities and interning with companies in Canada and around the world – and now they’re celebrating.

This week, more than 4,000 students graduate from the University of Toronto and most will return to make their final trek across front campus to storied Convocation Hall: the journey from students to alumni.

“This is a milestone I am very proud of,” said Abinaya Balasubramaniam, who receives her Honours BA in women and gender studies and equities studies. “Five years ago I never thought that I would be here, having accomplished the things that I have.

“I started actually believing in myself and realized I could do something important.”

From November 17 to 21, the 108-year-old Convocation Hall will witness almost 3,000 graduating students returning to walk across its stage in eight different ceremonies to receive their degrees. (Read about entrepreneur and astronaut for hire Aaron Persad.)

Balasubramaniam didn’t have to travel far to attend; she’s now working on a master’s degree in women and gender studies at U of T – a highly competitive program that accepts only a handful of students a year. But throughout her undergrad years, Balasubramaniam’s focus on international development, women’s health organizations and the empowerment of women through education took her to internships in Kenya, at the United Nations in New York and to Namibia. There, she worked closely with mothers who had tested positive for HIV and been forcibly and coercively sterilized without their consent – now recognized by the UN as a violation of human rights.

“Namibia was the internship that I feel I got the most out of, because I was older and got to fully appreciate what was happening around me,” said Balasubramaniam. “It was a very humbling experience where I got to balance theory with practice, and there was that bond of sisterhood between all the volunteers. We were passionate about the work we were doing and supported each other in making a difference.

“That was the common thread in all of my internships, no matter where I worked I felt connected to the work and the people I worked with through passion and knowing there was purpose in the work we were doing.”

More than two dozen student ushers have been hired to help welcome the more than 9,400 spectators expected at Con Hall and Convocation Plaza throughout the week. Ceremonies will be marked with the traditional pageantry and gravitas – from the colourful garb of the academic procession, to the exchange in Latin between the chancellor and the university president that opens each gathering. And two honorary degrees will be awarded. Renowned musician Jeanne Lamon, who recently concluded a 33-year tenure as music director of Toronto’s baroque orchestra Tafelmusik, will be recognized November 18, while Canadian-born physician Sir John Irving Bell will be recognized November 19 for his contributions as one of the world’s leading researchers in genetics and immunology.

The white marquee on the front lawn known as Convocation Plaza – an innovation introduced in recent years – will once again provide a place for friends and family to mingle and pose for photographs with the university’s newest alumni. And organizers will be streaming photos and congratulations on social media from family, friends and students who use #UofTgrad14.

“To all those graduating in Fall Convocation 2014 – congratulations on earning your degrees, after years of hard work," said Professor Meric Gertler, president of the university. "As the University community hunkers down for exams – and winter – you are heading off towards the next big phase in your lives, to apply your learning and creativity in every imaginable field and walk of life, and to make the world a better place.

“That's what higher education, and especially a U of T education, is about.”

For Stanley Fedun, who becomes a double alumnus this week – graduating with his MA after completing his BA in political science – convocation offers a chance to reflect on a wide range of co-curricular experiences, such as working part-time at the Ontario Legislature or rowing with U of T’s crew team, as well as academic highlights.

“During my third year of undergraduate studies I had the awesome opportunity of participating in an ROP or research opportunity programme with Professor Aurel Braun,” said Fedun (pictured right).

“We were researching frozen conflicts in Eastern Europe, and I was fascinated by the subject matter. Professor Braun ultimately became my academic mentor and I regularly keep in touch with him today.”

Fedun’s interest in Europe and Asia led to the creation of his podcast, The Eurasia Show. He now works for the Leader of the Official Opposition at the Ontario Legislature; by night he runs Osten, a small (“but mighty,” he says) political risk consultancy that he started up this year.

“I feel blessed to have this opportunity and to be immersed on a daily basis in a myriad of activities that relate directly to what I studied,” said Fedun.

Taking advantage of all the opportunities on campus as well as off campus was an important part of the undergrad experience, Balasubramaniam said.

“There were times at U of T where I took my studies very seriously, and there were times where I just needed a break. Looking back, one of the things I am most proud of is joining on-campus groups as a way to relieve stress.”

Hailey Parliament is a writer with U of T News.

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