2020 &amp; 2021 Graduation Celebrations

Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing

For Denika McPherson, returning to walk across the stage at Convocation Hall this month in front of family and loved ones was an opportunity to celebrate not only her degree, but their support during some of the most challenging years of her time as a nurse.

McPherson graduated from the University of Toronto’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing in 2021 with a master of nursing degree. As a student, she worked as a critical care nurse in a large GTA hospital at the height of the pandemic. In 2021, she shared with Bloomberg Nursing some reflections on that stressful time including how she managed her studies and her mental health, as she prepared to graduate virtually.

Being able to return in person and celebrate also fosters a sense of community, a good reason to come together under more positive circumstances, given all that she and her fellow nursing peers have experienced in recent years, McPherson says. It is also a moment to demonstrate the importance of representation, she adds.

“Attending the in-person ceremony is important because representation and diversity, equity and inclusion of historically marginalized or excluded groups matters. I hope others seeing me cross the stage are inspired,” says McPherson.

Dhivya Eapen, who also graduated in 2021 with a master of nursing degree, says she knew she needed to return for the in-person celebrations; it offered the chance to reconnect with peers and faculty, many of whom she only saw virtually towards the end of her program – and to celebrate this personal achievement with family and friends.

Eapen had just one term left to complete her degree when the pandemic took hold. She shared with Bloomberg Nursing in 2021 what that was like juggling the shift to online learning while caring for an infant and helping her older children navigate virtual schooling. While she also bore witness to the burnout facing her colleagues and clinical instructors during her placement, she focused on “knowing her why.”

“The primary thing for me, was to press on, keep going, and know my why. Why am I doing this, why am I a nurse? And to keep coming back to that,” says Eapen. “I feel honoured to be a part of these celebrations this week, that were paused but not passed over because of COVID pandemic restrictions.”

Now on maternity leave, Eapen is looking forward to returning to her clinical practice and continuing her education in the area of leadership to improve quality of care and caring for carers, both health-care workers and nursing students alike. Eapen is an alumni representative for the Bloomberg Nursing Faculty council.

McPherson, meanwhile, says she is tremendously proud to be a member of the �Թϱ�� alumni community. Since her graduation she has been using her leadership capacity to engage students through mentorship both at the Faculty of Nursing and through the Summer Mentorship program with the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Her work keeps her busy, but she still finds time to contribute to making the nursing workforce a better place for future nurses, most recently as a stakeholder contributor to the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, and the Business and Higher Education Roundtable for diversity, equity, and inclusion in work-integrated learning.

As for the future, McPherson reflects on the book How Will You Measure Your Life?

“Our class persevered through a demanding program and a demanding profession at the height of a global pandemic,” says McPherson. “I firmly believe that what lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

‘It’s going to be special’: �Թϱ�� Mississauga alumna returns for in-person celebrations

lanthierj — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 16:36:03 +0000

‘It’s going to be special’: �Թϱ�� Mississauga alumna returns for in-person celebrations

lanthierj Fri, 12/09/2022 - 11:36

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Carisse Samuel, who graduated in 2020 during a virtual ceremony due to the pandemic, is returning to the University of Toronto with family and friends for an in-person celebration (photo courtesy of Carisse Samuel)

Sharon Aschaiek

Topic

�Թϱ�� Mississauga

Members of the University of Toronto Mississauga’s classes of 2020 and 2021 are reuniting at Convocation Hall this weekend – and for Carisse Samuel, the long-anticipated, in-person celebration “means everything.”

Samuel, who completed the digital enterprise management program and graduated in a virtual convocation in 2020, missed the joy of marking this major life milestone in-person with her school peers, family and friends due to the pandemic. But as she proudly crosses the stage on Dec. 10, she says she will be feting not only an academic accomplishment, but overcoming a life-threatening illness that almost scuttled her education.

“This means everything, because of what I went through to get my degree, from being sick and then coming back to school. It kind of left a little hole in me, not being able to celebrate with my family and friends, so it’s going to be special,” Samuel says.

Carisse Samuel (photo courtesy of Carisse Samuel)

In her second year at �Թϱ�� Mississauga, Samuel suddenly contracted anti-NMDAR encephalitis, an autoimmune disease that causes brain dysfunction. Known colloquially as “brain on fire,” the condition put her in a coma for five months. Afterwards, she underwent intensive rehabilitation to relearn how to speak, eat, walk, socialize and manage her emotions. She also had to have surgery to remove her ovaries.

Samuel’s path to recovery was eased by her participation in a support group for individuals with acquired brain injuries, where she learned the craft of creative writing and began expressing her feelings about her illness in poetry. Finding solace in writing, she has decided to write a book about her entire medical journey. She is currently working with an editor and is aiming to publish in November 2023.

“It’s going to be a personal account from when I first started at UTM, to everything I went through and all the processing that happened to get to where I am today, and how it ultimately made me a stronger person,” she says.

Since completing her degree, Samuel has put her digital business expertise to good use, first as a content creator and account coordinator at a marketing agency, and since 2020 as a self-employed digital marketer. She helps non-profit organizations and purpose-driven brands with projects such as social marketing and web design.

“Working in the field put my knowledge to the test, and �Թϱ�� really equipped me to handle everything that came my way,” she says.

On the side, Samuel works as a freelance photographer and, as a hobby, paints portraits. She recently took a course in cybersecurity, and became deeply interested in the systems, challenges and opportunities related to the protection of sensitive data. That training has compelled her to build on her education by applying to �Թϱ��’s master of information degree, where she wants to specialize in knowledge management and information management.

For now, though, she’s mainly focused on finally getting to complete her convocation experience at �Թϱ�� Mississauga, where two good friends will join her for the celebration.

“I’m just looking forward to catching up with everyone I haven’t seen in two years, and walking across that stage and feeling like, I did it!”

Listen to Samuel on CBC Radio's Here and Now

'Enormous pride': Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education celebrates classes of 2020 and 2021

lanthierj — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 12:31:24 +0000

'Enormous pride': Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education celebrates classes of 2020 and 2021

lanthierj Fri, 12/09/2022 - 07:31

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Alumni who graduated in 2021 and 2020 from the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education are reunited at Convocation Hall on Dec. 7 (all photos by Dewey Chang)

Jelena Damjanovic

Topic

Convocation Hall

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Graduate Students

In March 2020, David Sewell and his classmates walked out of their classroom at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE), not knowing that it would be the last time they would see each other in person in a classroom again.

A couple of days later, an email from the faculty explained classes would be shifting to a virtual format due to COVID-19, “something none of us, students or faculty, were truly prepared for,” said Sewell, who graduated from the master of professional kinesiology (MPK) program in 2021.

The students of the program were supposed to start their in-field learning in April. But another email informed them that the placements, a key feature of the program, would also be pivoting online or have to be cancelled altogether.

After the initial feeling of frustration and disappointment, Sewell’s mindset started to shift, in large part due to the efforts of KPE Assistant Professor David Frost, director of the MPK program, who used his open format Zoom sessions to regularly check in on the students and discuss their virtual placements.

“We began to realize the opportunity we had been given,” said Sewell. “We were part of the health-care system during the largest public health crisis of the past century. The program connected us with a wide variety of public and private health-related businesses who, just like us, were forced to change how they operate with no notice and no pre-existing plan of how to do it.

“We became part of the solution to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The experience, Sewell says, made them resilient.

“When we all enrolled in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education, we knew we would be offered a world-class education in this field, but I don’t think any of us ever imagined that the soft skill of resilience would become such a large part of our education,” he says. “We became experts in adapting, we solved problems, we forged new paths, we were leaders in our field.”

This week, Sewell and other KPE alumni who graduated in 2020 and 2021 finally had the opportunity to gather on campus in person to celebrate their academic achievements. They join more than 7,700 grads expected to cross the stage at Convocation Hall in a series of in-person celebrations for the classes of 2020 and 2021. Alumni and their 24,000 anticipated guests will attend 28 special in-person graduation celebrations over 13 days.

Professor Gretchen Kerr, dean of KPE, welcomed the KPE classes of 2020 and 2021 in a special graduation celebration at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

“We appreciate that the cancellation of your convocations due to COVID-19 came as a huge disappointment to you, your families, friends, teachers and mentors,” said Kerr. “Our Faculty and the University of Toronto take enormous pride in your accomplishments and that is why we’re delighted and grateful to welcome you back to campus today for an in-person celebration.”

Kerr congratulated the alumni on graduating from Canada’s top university in challenging times.

“Graduating from a world-renowned, rigorous academic program is something to be proud of at any time, but you did it in the most unusual of times, during a worldwide pandemic that added more than the usual share of challenges to how we study, teach – and go about our daily lives,” she said. “Still, you persevered, and in doing so, you showed why KPE students enjoy the reputation of being hard working, committed and resilient.”

Aalaya Milne came out to celebrate her master of science degree in kinesiology, completed in 2021. Milne previously earned a bachelor of kinesiology from �Թϱ�� and is pursuing doctoral studies at the faculty.

“It feels surreal being able to stand among you all after months of Zoom calls, just looking at people’s faces in little squares on the computer screen,” she said. “I feel blessed and grateful to be able to celebrate again in person with you all.”

Reflecting on the years behind them, Milne said it wasn’t easy.

“Not only did we choose to be in grad school, but we chose to do it during a global pandemic,” she said. “We saw the challenge that was presented to us, and we rose to the occasion.

“I hope that you all take a moment to think about how incredible your accomplishments truly are.”

‘A big moment’: �Թϱ�� alumni who graduated with virtual convocations return for in-person celebrations

lanthierj — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 18:03:33 +0000

‘A big moment’: �Թϱ�� alumni who graduated with virtual convocations return for in-person celebrations

lanthierj Mon, 12/05/2022 - 13:03

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More than 7,700 members of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 are expected to cross the stage at Convocation Hall (photo by Neil Ta)

Alexa Battler

Topic

Convocation Hall