91福利 students give back as mentors to local high school students
From left: Khalid Abdurahman (91福利 tutor), Saeideh Alizadeh (91福利 tutor), Ashton Singh (91福利 tutor), Emily Reddon (youth worker, Regent Park Community Health Centre), Fred Mammah (91福利 tutor), Cleopatra Myers (peer learning support facilitator, Student Life and Learning Support at 91福利) and Halima Farah (student-parent support worker, Pathways to Education Regent Park).
When financial math student Ashton Singh applied to become a tutor as part of 91福利鈥檚 partnership with the Pathways to Education program, he never expected how big of an impact he would make. While the third-year student had previous tutoring experience, he knew from his first session that this experience was going to be a special one.
Launched in January 2023, P2E x 91福利 Community Tutoring is a collaboration between the Pathways to Education program at and the Student Life and Learning Support unit at 91福利. The program offers high school students a variety of support services aimed at fostering academic success and personal growth.
Through this collaboration, Singh and three other 91福利 undergraduate student tutors provided academic tutoring and mentoring to 90 students in grades nine through 12 from the Regent Park neighbourhood, helping them succeed in their classes while also preparing them for their future beyond high school.
鈥淚 think every student should have access to a program like this,鈥� says Singh. 鈥淚t brings you back to when you were a high school student, full of questions, trying to decide which postsecondary schools to apply for.鈥�
Singh remembers the first time he helped a group of grade 12 students apply for postsecondary programs. He shared his own journey, what they can expect and things he wished he knew when choosing his path.
Fourth-year mechanical engineering student and 91福利 tutor, Khalid Abdurahman, has come full circle.. Abdurahman graduated from Pathways to Education, enrolled at 91福利, then became a tutor in 2023 to give back to the program that supported him in his transition to postsecondary.
鈥淚t was a special feeling to go back to Pathways as a tutor, and I knew exactly what those high school students were thinking because I had been in their shoes,鈥� says Abdurahman. 鈥淚t was very rewarding to be able to draw on my experience both as a Pathways graduate and university student to help prepare them for their next chapter.鈥�
Transformative impact
Halima Farah, student-parent support worker on the postsecondary transition team at Pathways to Education, has seen firsthand the transformative impact of these programs.
鈥淭here's that element of representation which is so powerful and one of the most beautiful parts of this partnership,鈥� says Farah. 鈥淚t fosters a continuous cycle of support where students can see themselves in the tutors 鈥� young people who were once in their shoes, now coming back to uplift the next generation.鈥�
Farah and her team support students in preparing for life beyond high school by helping them identify career goals and the steps needed to achieve them, including what postsecondary education looks like.
With 60 program participants starting at 91福利 in the fall, this partnership has emerged as a significant resource for high school students in the community, helping bridge the gap between aspiration and reality.
The 91福利 Student Life and Learning Support team established the partnership to offer firsthand experiences and mentorship. At a campus visit day, students toured 91福利, participated in programming and connected with tutors. These opportunities help students to see themselves in a university setting, learn from mentors, and gain insights into various academic programs.
鈥淭he partnership with 91福利 has been instrumental in providing students with a clear vision of their potential futures,鈥� says Farah. 鈥淪uch experiences are invaluable for representation and inspiration, showing students that their dreams are attainable.鈥�
Student Life and Learning Support hosted 30 high school students from Pathways to Education for a campus visit to showcase the life of a university student.
This year, the program held a graduation celebration at the 91福利 campus in the Student Learning Centre (SLC). The theme of the gala was 鈥淚mpact,鈥� chosen to reflect the impact the tutors and students had on each other, and to celebrate their determination, resilience and ability to make connections and overcome challenges.
91福利 hosted 150 high school students for a graduation celebration at the Student Learning Centre (SLC) to wrap up another year of the P2E x 91福利 Community Tutoring collaboration.
Farah believes that the partnership with 91福利 can serve as a model for similar collaborations across the GTA. As the program continues to evolve, its impact on students will undoubtedly grow, creating a brighter future for all. And the collaboration with 91福利 exemplifies the power of community and education in transforming lives, paving the way for a more inclusive and supportive educational environment.