Annual Summer Mentorship Program closes on a high note
The annual Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) has once again come to a meaningful and emotional close as students reflected upon their experiences and the relationships they formed throughout the four-week program at the closing ceremonies held July 30, 2015.
“Through SMP, I was not only able to confirm that I want to work in paediatrics, but I also made amazing friends, got to see what university life was like by living in residence and benefitted from the teachers and staff pushing us all to work hard,” said Safiyyah Briggs, 17 year old SMP student from Sudbury.
Each year, SMP gives high school students of Indigenous and African ancestry the opportunity to explore health sciences at U of T over four-weeks in July. This year’s class was the largest yet, with 61 enthusiastic students exploring health science professions, including medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and social work.
“Gaining the hands-on experience through placements in hospital was key to helping me decide which career I could see myself in,” said Thomas Callender III, a 17 year old SMP student who will be applying to university in the coming months. “At the Faculty of Nursing I had the opportunity to see the variety of work involved in nursing. I got to use a stethoscope, swaddle a baby, and use sterile gloves. The experience helped me to realize nursing is what I want to do.”
Throughout the program, students learn a variety of essential skills including the importance of professionalism, communications skills and how to write a research paper. 2002 SMP alumni Tamara Nedd-Roderique was one of the teachers helping students learn these important skills. Tamara has been involved with SMP in various capacities – as a mentor, having students observe her work in a lab, and now, as a teacher. “Being a teacher with SMP has allowed me to funnel all of my life skills and experiences, and share them with students in the program that started it for me,” said Tamara. She also underscored the importance of the relationships she created during SMP and how essential the network of support has been to her, “SMP is an important program because it helps to close the gap for students who might not have had an opportunity to be exposed to the medical field and to foster a network of people who are committed to their success. The people I met through SMP have been extremely influential in my life and I wanted to give back.”
Student mentors also helped students with practical advice on high school courses, reference letters, in addition to providing academic support throughout the program, and in preparation for the final research papers and poster presentations.
At the closing ceremonies, Ike Okafor, Senior Officer, Service Learning and Diversity Outreach, in the Office of Health Professions and Students Affairs (OHPSA), which organizes the SMP, reminded students “this is not the end of the journey, but the beginning” as he explained the various learning opportunities and experiences available to SMP graduates.
The closing ceremonies also included an address by Professor Trevor Young, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, an outpouring of gratitude to teachers and staff from SMP students and inspirational advice from Dr. Joel Kerr, 1997 SMP alumni. With a Doctorate of Chiropractic, and as President and Founder of The Health Institute , Dr. Kerr stated, “Without SMP, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I discovered the Chiropractic field through SMP.” During his presentation, Dr. Kerr stressed the importance of continuous improvement, seizing opportunities presented and staying in a positive space. “It’s important for visible minorities to see a successful person in the health care field, so that they can achieve the same, or even better,” concluded Dr. Kerr.
When asked how he heard about the SMP program Thomas Callender III recounts “when I was younger, my parents had a newspaper article on the fridge about a doctor that mentored young minority students who were interested in the medical field.” Left, Thomas poses with the inspirational article.