Category: Featured Articles

By Maryam Sheikh

A new season, new school year… and the SHAD Program applications come out soon. When I first heard about SHAD, I was intrigued. A month long, live-in, STEAM based program with other like-minded teens from across Canada? What better way to spend one July of my summer? I had heard about this program from many people; students who were applying, community leaders, and SHAD alumni. The program was formed so that high school students from across Canada with a passion for STEAM would have the ability to learn in an enriched environment alongside many mentors and educators. The program has 17 Canadian host campuses and participants on their designated campus for 27 days.

Living away from home and on a university campus is an experience that many students can relate to or might be a possibility that they are exploring. For me, it was an opportunity to meet so many new people, gain independence, and be in a university environment.

This experience was my first one living away from home. I was definitely excited and that feeling only intensified when I started the program. All of the directors and program assistants were extremely welcoming, friendly, and approachable. I got to live with a wonderful roommate- we became very good friends and talk regularly even though the program is over.

The month consisted of workshops, seminars, lectures, and outings. This gave us opportunities to get to know some of the professors and other educators at Western as well as get a feel for the campus. SHAD opened my eyes up to so many fields I wasn’t entirely familiar with earlier and I know that I will definitely apply to Western when submitting university applications this year.

We also had a design project to work on throughout the month in our designated groups. This year’s theme was about tackling plastic waste management. In preparation to pitch our projects, we were taught about building businesses and we got to learn more about waste management in order to have a strong background on the topic. Throughout workshops, we developed from an idea to a full-fledged business.

All in all, SHAD was a very well-rounded experience. Each day was packed with educational seminars, recreation/fitness time and project time. We also went on outings especially on the weekends!

The program instilled a strong sense of community. At my campus, Western University, I was introduced to 66 strangers on the first day and left with 66 people I now call family. There are also so many accomplished SHAD fellows from other campuses that I will be able to network with and I have yet to meet!

SHAD strives for inclusivity and diversity in each cohort, and as such, participants come from different backgrounds and life experiences. This program looks for unique, passionate, and hardworking high school students to bring together for a month of learning, growing, and having fun. If you’re debating whether or not to apply, I would highly recommend that you go for it! The application process in itself is a great way to reflect on yourself and your personal experiences.

There are more details on SHAD’s website: https://www.shad.ca

By Maryam S.

Are you a Canadian post-secondary student or graduate with a disability?

NEADS.ca might be the website for you. NEADS, the National Educational Association of Disabled Students is a consumer-controlled, cross-disability charitable organization. It aims to provide full access to education and employment for post-secondary students and graduates.

Once on the website, users have the option of accessing the site in either English or French. There are multiple tabs to browse under, including the About Us page, the Education section, the Employment area, Resources, and Events. There is relevant information on each tab for users to explore.

Some key tools that are available to use on NEADS.ca are their job search videos. They cover topics such as finding work in tough economic times, becoming a self-advocate, transitioning from school to work, preparing for interviews, and effective job searching. Videos are made by representatives from different professionals from BMO, RBC, and UNB, among others.

Additionally, the site has search engines to find campus career centres and locate campus disability services.

NEADS also has a bimonthly e-newsletter which highlights new information, upcoming events, and interesting stories.

The organization has also established a NEADS-L Network; an email based, discussion forum for comments, questions, and contributions. It is a beneficial way to interact with others and share experiences.

Furthermore, NEADS runs a website that helps match students with scholarships and bursaries they may be eligible for. Students can go to disabilityawards.ca and sort through available scholarships and bursaries by searching according to disability, province, or deadline.

The site includes access to a duty to accommodate file. This document is a resource for individuals who work and provides information about the difference between federally and provincially regulated employees, the human rights legislation, the rights to equal employment, and employers’ duty to accommodate employees with various needs.

One of NEADS past initiatives was their Job Search Strategies Forums Project. They hosted interactive forums with guest speakers that assist attendees in preparing to enter the job market. With interactive sessions and guest speakers, topics focused on career transition, concerns about disclosure, resume development, conducting job searches, asking for accommodations, promoting skill sets, and finding mentorship opportunities.

The forums hosted around 70 attendees with 5-6 guest speakers. They have previously been held in Toronto and Vancouver and have been fully accessible events (ASL interpretation has been available in the past). After the forums, reports were produced which included participant suggestions and presentation transcripts.

Current projects run by NEADS are their Career Centre Outreach Project and the second phase of their Equity Through Education Project.

There are a variety of personal experiences and inspirational stories to read about on the employment articles section. For example, people write about their lessons being their own boss, their interview tips, and their educational journeys.

One of these articles is about Jennifer Dillon, a York University graduate who is an information management advisor. As a woman with a vision impairment, Jennifer uses screen reading software and refreshable screen displays in her work. Having participated in the two-year paid Ontario Internship Program, she gained many skills that have helped her in the workforce. She completed a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences, and, realizing the need for project management in the environmental field, completed a certificate in project management at Ryerson University. She is very successful and happy despite her disability, and her educational journey is an inspirational read.

Overall, NEADS.ca is a great resource to find tools, use resources, and search for helpful tips pertaining to the workforce and education. It strives to make information accessible and provides relevant and important information. Don’t hesitate to check it out!

We all know the struggle of taking tests. The anxious feeling every time you study the night before, the morning when you wake up sweating; terrified of how it’s going to play out, or when you finally take your seat, have your pencil in your hand, and can’t stop shaking. Relax – you don’t have to feel that stress any longer. There are so many ways to lower your stress level when it comes to test anxiety.

The number one way to lower your anxiety about tests is by studying for about an hour each day for as many days as you feel fit prior to the date of the test. While the amount of studying time for each person varies, the approximate correct studying time for small quizzes is 2 days, for medium quizes 3-4 days, for big tests 5-6 days, and for exams begin studying about 2 weeks prior to the test. By leaving your studies down to the night before, your stress levels become higher than they would be if you found some time each day to study. While your days may be busy, make it a priority to find time to study each day, even if it’s just for a little while.

Getting a good sleep should also be a priority for you, especially the night before a big test. Countless studies have shown the numerous benefits of getting a good night’s sleep. In high school, students should get approximately 8 hours of sleep depending on the person. Getting the right amount can lower your stress, and actually allow you to perform better on your tests as you will be more focused and awake.

Take breaks when you’re studying! Most people forget or ignore this extremely important part of studying. Many students try to cram all the information into their heads the night before the test as an attempt to study for as long as possible. However, by taking 15 minute breaks every hour of studying, you are giving your mind a break and you will absorb more information and learn more when you return to studying.

Remember to breathe as well. If you need extra help, talk to a teacher or get a tutor. Many teachers offer extra help before or after school, or even during lunch. Many tutors are also available; talk to your guidance counselor or a parent to setup tutor sessions.

It’s a small sacrifice to take some time to get extra help or to get a tutor, but it’s worth it. No one test can determine your entire future. Follow this guide to lowering your test anxiety and chances are your stress will be much lower and your grades will be much higher.

Sources:

1. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-test-anxiety-2795368
2. https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/workbook/test-anxiety
3. https://www.psycom.net/managing-test-anxiety/

What is CO-OP?

CO-OP stands for co-operative education and it is an outside of the classroom opportunity that allows you to learn and apply concepts that you would learn in the classroom, out in the real world!

My Placement

For my CO-OP, I work in a program at my school for students with special needs. The needs of the students vary; some are hearing impaired, some have down syndrome or autism. My placement is in a course called “Navigating the Community”. In this class, the students learn about the community around them and have the chance to explore it by planning routes on Google Maps, walking around the community and taking busses! I am assigned two students. One has down syndrome and the other is non-verbal and has autism. I work along-side the teacher and the educational assistants in the classroom to create different and unique ways of learning. I’ve created my own check-lists and worksheets to help my students with their learning.

My Favourite thing about my Placement

I absolutely love working with people and learning new ways to do things while thinking “out of the box”. I love problem solving and adapting to new situations quickly. My favourite thing about this placement is creating relationships with my two students, because I feel that the students relate better with people their age or at least similar in age! I love watching them grow and learn new things, the smiles on the students faces, and them asking for me to help them is so rewarding!

Why CO-OP is Beneficial

In my opinion, CO-OP is super, super important! It allows you to explore different work domains and try new things. You might try a CO-OP and end up loving it, but you also may hate it. It’s all about learning with hands-on! You may go into a workplace during CO-OP where you thought you wanted to work in for the rest of your life and then get to your placement and realize, “wow, this work really is not for me!”! CO-OP allows you to try different things and work with different people outside of school!

My CO-OP experience has also been beneficial to me because it has given me new skills like communication, collaboration, initiative and independence! It’s also given me self-confidence and boosted my self-esteem because the students I work with love me being in their lives and helping them. My number one goal going into this CO-OP was to create an impact in someone’s life, and I believe that I have exceeded this goal.

The idea of returning to school after a long, relaxing summer is never overly enthralling. Students usually tend to dread the idea of going back; so much so that the word ‘school’ can’t even be spoken. It seems like a lot of students nowadays have a very negative perception of school. Not all, but most. I’ll admit, I wasn’t very excited to go back at all. It’s admittedly quite difficult to get back into the routine of school; you have to get up early and get ready to leave for school where you have to learn. I’m pretty sure that anyone would choose their warm comfy bed over a boring classroom. School may not be very exciting at times but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad.

This year, I am going into Grade 11. I think that’s one of the reasons why I was apprehensive going back; time is moving very fast and I am fearful that I can’t keep up with everything. I also know that this year is going to be a challenging fight to win. Going into a new grade can be both scary and exciting; you don’t know if you’ll have any friends in your classes, or if you can continue to keep your grades up. You also go back to school knowing that each year will be at least a little bit more challenging than the other, especially in high school. You want to be able to get into a good University so that you can have a good future. Every year you constantly put the pressure on yourself. Sometimes you may not even feel motivated to get back to work, especially after the summer. Here I have provided some tips on how to keep a positive mindset during the school year.

Establish a routine: Creating a routine for school mornings and nights always makes going back to school much easier. That way, you can create time for everything. I would suggest setting an alarm for the morning (or maybe 5 because getting up in the morning is extremely hard). Try and go to bed at a decent hour especially for back to school because studies show that teenagers between the ages of 14-17 need at least 9-11 hours of sleep to properly function. Otherwise, you get sleepier and can’t perform properly with your studies. Sleep is also known to reduce stress levels so it is important that you get a good bit of sleep during the school year.

Take Care Of Yourself: I don’t know if everyone is like this but when I am in school, my main focus is school, and school only. I am not the best at taking care of myself during the school day, whether it be the small things like chapped lips or dirty glasses, I tend to get bothered easily during school because I am still a bit tired. I suggest to bring a small bag of items you may need during school: a small pack of tissues, chapstick, glasses cloth (if you wear glasses), maybe a small snack so that you do not get too hungry during class. Don’t just take care of yourself physically but also, mentally. School is one of the leading causes of anxiety and stress in teens. It’s important that you take your mental health into consideration during school. Don’t push yourself too much and cause a lot of stress and anxiety on yourself. There are many ways to cope with stress and anxiety during school: meditation, sleep, keeping organized, exercising which can be good for both your physical and mental health. Or, you could just try and confide in a friend or trusted adult to feel better, talking about your feelings is always helpful.

Focus On The Positives: Everything in life has a positive side to it. Nothing’s all bad. During the school year try and look past all the stress and anxiety you may be feeling. Look at the future and how much the hard work that you are doing will pay off in the end. School is not all that bad, it can be fun too. You get to spend a lot more time with your friends and get to see them more often-this might not be the case when you graduate and people go their separate ways.

Hi, my name is Mercedes and I don’t have my wisdom teeth or tonsils, but I do have anxiety.

Last semester was my first time trying co-op education, and I had two periods in the morning along with one at the end of the day. Although I was anxious, it was relieving to know my boyfriend was also taking morning co-op and that I already knew my teacher, Mrs. Thomson, fairly well.

The first few weeks of co-op, classes are spent learning about and reviewing things like workplace safety and doing resumes. And of course looking for a placement, or in my case, two placements. When it came to deciding on the placements, I knew I wanted to work at the library or at a newspaper. Looking back, I am kind of glad those options did not work out.

The library did not need any help and we never heard back from any newspapers we contacted. I ended up doing my morning placement in a CPP (Community Pathways Program) co-op class, helping the students with their work and eventually attending their placements with them. Things were going really well and I enjoyed my placement. During this time Mrs. Thomson and I were working on contacting Goodwill for my afternoon placement and best of all, my anxiety had not been a problem. Yet.

On October 9^th I had a doctor’s appointment. At that appointment it was decided that three days later I would be going to the hospital to have a tonsillectomy (tonsils removed). Which did not seem too bad, except for the fact that I needed to stay home from school for two weeks to recover.

The tonsillectomy and recovery went well. However, when I came back to my co-op placement, I had lost all motivation. I was very upset that while I was away, I missed seeing all the students I worked with start their placements. I did not want to admit that I felt differently, but it was clear something changed. I was not taking my co-op as seriously as I was before. Both Mrs. Thomson and the teacher whose class I was working in noticed the change.

Around this time, I was also preparing to start my afternoon co-op at Goodwill. For around a week I was supposed to take a bus to Goodwill and start my co-op, but every time the bus neared my stop, I’d begin to panic and my body would freeze and I’d ride right past it, all the way home. Although it took some time, I was able to be honest with Mrs. Thomson about how I was feeling, about Goodwill and my morning placement, and we decided that until I was comfortable, she would come with me to Goodwill for at least the first 10 minutes. This small change boosted my motivation to continue doing the co-op placement again. I felt like I was back or track.

This was working really well for me, for about a week and a half. I needed to have my wisdom teeth removed as soon as possible. Which meant another week out of school for recovery. I became unmotivated again. I didn’t think things could get much worse, but soon after I came back to school, I was let go from both of my co-op placements. Luckily, Mrs. Thomson was really understanding and we quickly got a new placement for both mornings and afternoons.

In the end everything worked out; I got my co-op credits and learned that tough situations aren’t always as bad as they seem. Especially when you have people who want to see you succeed!

Over the course of my school year so far, I have learned a lot. I learned a lot about politics, history, art, English and math, but the most important lessons I’ve learned has not come from any textbook. The most important lessons I’ve learned has come from the teachers, staff, my friends, and even things that I have had to figure out for myself:

I had to teach myself was how to prioritize. I realized within the first week of high school that I had to learn this skill because without it, I would never finish my assignments, homework or projects. Not to mention all of my extracurricular activities. I discovered that the best way to prioritize, is to write down your homework, activities, due dates and appointments all in one place. Remember that it is important to keep a balance of school, life and relationships, so make sure to include all of these things in your notebook or calendar. After school, I suggest making a list in order of the things that you have to do from most to least important. That way, you do the most important things first, and then have time for the rest of your activities, later.

I learned from my guidance counsellors and teachers about all of the options there are for post-secondary. I learned not to tie yourself down to one subject or career path because there’s always a chance that you find something you love even more. Keep your options open and try new things because you might discover another career path you want instead. My school had many presentations available to the students where professionals came into our school to talk about their post secondary education and career. Always take these opportunities and listen to them speak about what their interests and career pathways are.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned this year was to join activities. Education is extremely important, but in order to lead a healthy lifestyle, you will want to have a life outside of school as well. If you ask anybody who has been to high school, they will almost always say that the most important thing they wish they did was to get more involved. Join clubs, teams, make new friends, and participate in the events that your school hosts. This is a great way to have more fun, have a balanced life, and it looks great on postsecondary applications. You will learn a lot about yourself by participating in these events. You will learn about interests you never knew you had, and it will also help you to decide what career you want to go into. There are many different options for clubs, teams, and sports that are involved with career pathways such as art, English, sports, physical education, and more. Get involved with your school, and there will be many positive outcomes.

Overall, the most important lessons that I learned in school this year was to: prioritize my life in order to create a healthy balance, keep my options open about post secondary and my future career path, and to become involved in my school. By doing these things, I was able to have the most educated and fun high school experience possible.

Sources:

https://fedena.com/blog/2016/05/10-life-lessons-you-can-learn-from-teachers.html

https://asiasociety.org/education/seven-skills-students-need-their-future

https://www.realsimple.com/magazine-more/inside-magazine/your-words/most-important-thing-learned-school

Article by Maryam Sheikh

One of my close friends, Sakina, recently completed a semester of Grade 11- working at a hospital. An Oakville student interested in pursuing medicine, she is part of her school’s Health and Wellness SHSM Program and was one of the few students to do a placement at St. Michael’s Hospital’s Breast Centre. I was able to ask her a few questions and really value her insight!

What did your position entail?

I was extremely lucky with my placement because my unit dealt with many aspects of the hospital environment; we did patient consults, labs and surgeries. I also dealt a lot with patient appointments, which means that I took care of everything from creating and processing the appointment in the hospital’s digital system, informing the patient, giving them instructions and confirming the dates with them.

However, I was lucky in the fact that I had an amazing supervisor; she let me do many unconventional tasks including running hospital events and picking up specimens from pathology and sending them to various labs around the world.

Of course, the hospital’s program also offered us the chance to go on tours of various different parts of the hospital. Aside from this, I participated in job shadowing and interviewing various employees as well.

Did your placement help you decide what you want to pursue after high school?

Definitely! I’ve always known that I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field and was keen on becoming an emergency physician and trauma surgeon, but I was unsure if I would be suited to the job. My placement allowed me to experience the implications of working in the hospital environment and helped me identify what type of worker I am.

What were the pros/cons of working at a hospital?

One thing I absolutely loved about working at a hospital was the close-knit environment between all the staff. They’re constantly performing critical tasks, and I have found that they have high levels of respect and cooperation for each other.

Another thing I loved about the hospital was the general unpredictability surrounding it. Every day, there were new patients and new situations, so I never got bored. Personally, I thrive in fast-paced environments, so working at the hospital was one of the best experiences of my life.

On the flip side, however, there is no denying that working anywhere in a hospital can take an emotional toll on you. It was hard to connect with patients, only to learn that they were experiencing some kind of hardship. It’s definitely critical to maintain an optimistic mindset in this environment-even just thinking of the hospital as a place of healing rather than a place of sickness makes all the difference!

What is the most important thing you learned during your semester at the hospital?

I learned many things during my time at St. Mikes, but one thing that really stood out to me was the weight of passion, work ethic, and the love for learning in achieving success. Working in a hospital is difficult; becoming a doctor is difficult. If you want to succeed in this environment, you need to love and breathe what you do, but you also need to work hard.

How did you manage your time between co-op, school courses, and extra curriculars?

A lot of people discount co-op as a course because it’s essentially just working for half the day. However, there are assignments you need to deal with for co-op as well, and the job is physically and mentally exhausting. Time management is key! You need to be able to work smart and stick to your schedule. Be productive and remember to take breaks. Burn-out is real, so organize your tasks and time wisely.

What advice/tips would you give to students considering a co-op placement?

• Don’t hesitate to apply! Co-op is a valuable experience.
• Work hard on your application, but remember that as a student, employers don’t have unrealistic expectations of you. Be confident in your abilities and present yourself well.
• If you do get the position, congratulations! Use this amazing opportunity and show initiative, express your interests and ask questions. Putting in extra effort will make your time really worth it!

Statistics from the US Census Bureau in 2015 show that although women count for almost 50% of the workforce in America, they only represent 25% of those employed by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) careers. This disparity in employment isn’t just indicative of potential misogyny or gender-based discrimination in those fields, it’s also a major problem that will affect the future of certain fields.

Why? For one thing, there is a growing demand for STEM professionals. According to the US Dept. of Commerce in 2017, employment in STEM fields is growing at a significant rate (faster than the employment rate of any other field). Meeting this demand by hiring women only makes sense, given that there are proportionally more of them who aren’t already involved in the field.

Another reason this would be beneficial is that it serves to broaden and better the research being conducted in the male-dominated field. As Stanford science historian Londa Schiebinger says, “There are lots of places where you can show the direct link between increase in number of women and outcome in knowledge. History, primatology, biology, medicine.” It seems like basic logic that by increasing the diversity of the researchers in any field, the knowledge will expand. This is because, inevitably, people of different backgrounds, cultures, creeds, and yes, genders, will approach problems and questions differently than each other. Diversity in the research results in diversity and reliability in the results.

Sometimes, this can be seen very clearly in fields dominated by men. Specifically, when they make oversights due to a lack of variety in their workplace. For example, a study done at McGill University in 2013 that was attempting to measure pain response in rats and mice had its results skewed. This was because the rodents were put off so much by the actual smell of the male researchers, they would become desensitized to pain because of stress and fear caused by the environment. And this wasn’t just a human smell. Female researchers could, apparently, conduct the same research without a problem. Now, clearly this wasn’t too detrimental to the world of science in the long run, but consider the implications: how many studies have been conducted on animals by predominantly or only male researchers? How do we know whether this has impacted all of them? It just goes to show that women in the workplace should be a valued presence to increase the validity of the work done.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this is the scope of the research done. If men are dominating fields like, for example, medicine, research conducted will predominantly serve men. This isn’t to say that every innovation from any field is only directly of use for the people who came up with it; merely that there will inevitably be gaps in research pertaining to other people. If research in medicine focuses on the male body and only acknowledges the female as some scaled-down version of this, there will inevitably be gaps in the healthcare of women. For example, many women with heart disease have, in the past, been misdiagnosed and faced fatal consequences for one specific reason: it wasn’t known that women exhibit different symptoms than men. There’s undoubtedly gaps of knowledge like this across the field, and those would be easily filled by a stronger female presence in the research.

These things and more make it evident that women in STEM occupations aren’t just an okay idea, they’re imperative to the betterment of research and human knowledge of those areas. If any women or girls find themselves attracted to STEM areas but are made hesitant by the lack of women they see in those areas, remember: those gaps are just waiting for you to come and fill them!

Sources:

• https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/11/141107-gender-studies-women-scientific-research-feminist/
• https://www.elsevier.com/connect/3-reasons-gender-diversity-is-crucial-to-science
• https://www.elsevier.com/connect/why-science-is-gender-biased-and-what-we-can-do-about-it
• http://genderedinnovations.stanford.edu/index.html
• https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/sehsd-wp2018-27.pdf