From March 22nd to 26th, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education hosted the Strength, Education and Empowerment Days (SEED) program, a week of free virtual learning designed to empower Indigenous youth, aged 13 to 18, to pursue post-secondary education.
The Faculty partnered with Indigenous Student Services’ First Nations House, Hart House, the Faculty of Law and the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health to deliver the program in lieu of SOAR, a week-long camp hosting Indigenous youth, which has been postponed this year due to COVID-19.
“KPE has been running SOAR since 2009, introducing high school students to Indigenous role models at the university and organizing visits to various faculties across the campus,” said Robin Waley, assistant manager of co-curricular equity and diversity at KPE. “Due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to offer the same in-person experience, but we still wanted to provide participants with meaningful programming that would introduce them to the opportunities and support networks available at U of T.”
Waley worked closely with Keiralyn LaPierre, a graduate student from OISE, to deliver SEED.
“SEED is about showcasing what U of T can offer Indigenous students,” said Lapierre, who is pursuing a master’s degree in social justice at OISE. “There are barriers to Indigenous students accessing post-secondary education and we’re trying to break them down by offering programming that’s relevant to these students.”
Though LaPierre, who is Algonquin from the Greater Golden Lake Area, didn’t have the chance to participate in a program like SEED as a high school student, she wishes that opportunity had been available to her.
“It would have been such a good introduction to life within a post-secondary institution, as well as a chance to see culturally relevant programming at the institutional level,” she said. “Thinking about post-secondary education can be daunting for Indigenous high school youth that do not always feel reflected in the outreach material or typical university recruitment methods.”
The youth in the SEED program were treated to a variety of workshops online, from the U of T Indigenous student experience panel to a basketball and leadership program. Each session was carefully selected by Waley, LaPierre and their partners across the university. LaPierre then reached out to Indigenous schools and Band Councillors to try to capture the interest of Indigenous youth.
Approximately 20 to 30 Indigenous youth attended the sessions each day with some zooming in from Thunder Bay and Six Nations. As the week went on, LaPierre noticed “a little community forming.”
“Being able to involve Indigenous professionals and students to lead some of the sessions has been invaluable,” she said. “But the most meaningful part of the program for me has been seeing a spark go off in the youth when talking about their future and the opportunities lying ahead.”