August 3, 2010
By Sean Bettam

A group of Arts & Science students are working to make a university education a realistic goal for a wider range of Toronto-area high school students with a program called Project Pathways.

“We send student leaders to speak at local high schools on a range of topics, including the variety of programs offered at the post-secondary level, getting involved with campus life outside of the classroom, the academic and social resources that are essential for success, and how to coordinate skills and resources to improve their educational experience,” said Project Pathways president and founder, and recent Woodsworth College graduate, Julie He (pronounced "hey").

“Our program specifically targets marginalized youths in underprivileged schools – based on grounds of academic, ethnicity or socio-economic status – to minimize the achievement gap,” He said. “We hope these students will not only learn that pursuing post-secondary education is an attainable goal, but also learn that there are benefits beyond the academic learning in obtaining further education.” For example, the sessions also serve as valuable preparation for the transition to independent learning and living required by post-secondary study. Reflecting on their own post-secondary education experiences, the U of T students can share a wealth of extra-curricular information based on their own experiences of life as a university student.

The seminars include a one-hour presentation followed by a Q&A period during which the high school students can inquire about all aspects of university life. “We believe this part is especially important because the current secondary school system fails in two aspects: it fails to give special attention to schools that are in underprivileged communities by not targeting its resources toward marginalized youths, and it fails to emphasize the importance of an integrated post-secondary education experience, including the skills needed for success that can only be acquired outside the classroom,” said vice-president Connie Sun, a graduate of Victoria College and now a student at OISE.

He drafted the idea for Project Pathways after tutoring in Toronto high schools while an undergraduate student, and recalling the abundance of resources and encouragement provided by her own high school preceding her university studies. “I knew that students in certain high schools needed more beyond academic support and I felt a need to develop a way to share the resources of people like myself,” He explained.  “I wanted to build on the skills I learned at U of T. As a psychology student, I was aware of the powerful effect of believing in your own abilities.”

Project Pathways also encourages the development of mentorship relationships in hopes that the high school students can benefit from a goal-setting process and eventually experience confidence-building, personal growth and maturation. He describes it as a mutually beneficial arrangement whereby the mentors are given an opportunity to give back to the community by offering their time and efforts to act as role models for younger students, while the high school students can expand their perspectives beyond their immediate environments. The U of T students, she suggests, will learn to interact in a mutually respectful environment, develop more acute perspective-taking skills, and improve their interpersonal skills in a diverse community.

Project Pathways recently received significant support from State Farm Insurance of Canada to fund the program for 2010-11. “We are excited to be supporting a program such as Project Pathways. State Farm has a strong history of investing in education, our youth and the communities we serve. Empowering our young adults and giving them access to post-secondary education ensures that the leaders of tomorrow have the support they need to realize and achieve their dreams,” said Zac Stevenson, manager of philanthropy and community relations at State Farm.

“We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to actualize our vision for marginalized youths in accessing post-secondary education,” said He. “Thanks to State Farm, Project Pathways is able to set aside nearly $10,000 for scholarships and bursaries for young pathfinders, as well as leadership recognition for U of T students. This is the beginning of a program that will make someone’s dream of pursuing post-secondary education a reality.”

Project Pathways is a perfect example of the type of service-learning emerging across U of T through which the city becomes the classroom, giving students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of issues within the Toronto community through dozens of student-led co-curricular activities. “Project Pathways provides an opportunity for University of Toronto students to engage in a meaningful community service experience, be a positive role model and influence for high school students and learn more about themselves and the community they serve,” said Karen McCrank, coordinator of co-curricular service-learning and student development at U of T’s Centre for Community Partnerships (CCP) and advisor to He and Sun throughout the development of the program. “We’ve been working with Julie and Connie to ensure the program follows a service-learning model, where the students are given the opportunity to connect their academic and experiential knowledge to their service, and gain leadership and citizenship skills through training and reflection.”

“It’s important that students are prepared for their role as mentors and are learning and developing skills through their service,” McCrank continued. “Through our Community Project Leadership Training program and ongoing leadership workshops, we can ensure the mentors have the opportunity to set goals for their service, increase their self-awareness, intercultural communication and relationship building skills to prepare them to work with the youth, and to better understand the social issues that impact areas in their local community and impact access to post secondary education.”

He and Sun acknowledge that they have learned a tremendous amount just in the process of putting Project Pathways together. “We’ve learned to be more open-minded and sensitive to situations different from our own,” said Sun. “I’ve learned that everyone has something to offer, and the importance of reflecting upon ourselves and finding a way to share what we already have,” said He. “And I’ve learned to make the shift from the spirit of independence to the interdependence mentality, and to ask for help and support when we’ve needed it.” In some ways, that mirrors just what the pair aims to illustrate to the high school students to whom they will be reaching out.

Project Pathways will be recruiting U of T students to lead the seminars in September, and will begin delivering their presentations in select Toronto District School Board schools in late October and early November. The organization can be reached at project.pathways@yahoo.ca and through its Facebook group.

Photos: Diana Tyszko