October 26th, 2020

Our first Doodle Night!

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

screenshot of a zoom grid of students all holding up their artwork and smiling
Our Doodle Gallery!

It’s your lucky day folks! I am posting a bonus blog this week because our Grad Escape: Doodle Night that took place on Friday was just too fun not to share.

What’s Doodle Night?

Doodle Night is one of the many Grad escape events that Gradlife runs for grad students come together, unwind and have some fun! Since so many students are artists, art-lovers, or just learning, we created Doodle Night so that grads could hang out and access their creative side.

A drawing of a lamp, books, cactus, school supplies and raining clouds
Artwork by Anonymous

The Doodle Challenges

To spark inspiration, our grads were given 3 doodle challenges:

  1. Draw something in your room
  2. Draw your research
  3. Draw a self portrait

As I’m sure you can see from the photos, everyone produced some amazing art, and had some very creative takes on the challenges. As one Grad pointed out about challenge #2, for a lot of people it was also an exercise in drawing their future. And I think they’re right!

While we had some very talented artists, the point of Doodle Night was to have fun and unwind, and many of the grads who joined us were new to drawing. As a result, the night was filled with laughs, chatting and lots of compliments! Also, I wanted to say a big thank you to our Grads who let me share their work on the blog–their art was simply too good not to be seen!

A doodle of an E. coli cell that is smiling and giving a thumbs up
An Easy-going E. coli by Matthew who is studying Immunology

Wanna Come Doodle With Us?

Sad you missed out on Friday’s event? Fear not! Gradlife is running more doodle nights this semester (our next one is Nov 6th), as well as Recipe Share events and Virtual Game nights! Whether you are a professional artist/ chef/ board-gamer, or a novice, we’d love to see you there!

You can register for our upcoming events through the Gradlife Calendar on CLNx: https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home/gradlife.htm

A sketch of a washroom sink
Artwork by Anonymous

October 19th, 2020

Four easy meals you can make with a can of chickpeas (and some other stuff)

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

the words "Easy Chick-Peasy" are spelt out in chickpeas across a kitchen counter top.
See what I did there…

Whether you’re trying to eat less meat, are in a rush, or just really like chickpeas, these recipes are for you! Feel free to turn each dish into your own since there’s no wrong way to cook them. In fact, that’s the thing I like the most about chickpeas, if all else fails you can safely eat them raw.

Roast Chickpeas

This is my go-to dinner recipe. They’re great cold or hot, with rice, roast veggies or on their own!

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas

olive oil

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried coriander

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Drain chickpeas and rinse in strainer. Place into large bowl and toss with olive oil and spices. Place onto lined baking pan and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees C, mixing the chickpeas about halfway through. You can also garnish with lemon juice and parsley at the end. That’s it!

Chickpea Salad

I know this sounds like I’m going to tell you to open up a can of chick peas on top of a salad (which is also quite yummy). This recipe is a bit more involved… but just barely. It’s my vegetarian take on chicken or egg salad—you can eat it in a sandwich, a wrap (my favourite), or if you haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while, just eat as is.

Image of chickpea salad in a sandwich with spinach on a cutting board

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas

olive oil

juice from ½ a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

handful of Parsley (optional)

Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Place them in a bowl and coat with olive oil. Mash with a potato masher or fork until you have achieved your desired consistency. Mix in the lemon, salt, pepper and parsley (this is optional but I highly recommend). And that’s it! Easy chick-peasy, as they say.

Hummus

Although it’s very tempting to buy pre-made hummus (which I often also do), this recipe is also super easy, and in my humble opinion, tastes better than your average store-bought dip.

Image of a dollop of hummus with parsley and paprika on top. Behind it on the cutting board there are pieces of bread

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup of Tahini

approximately 10 cloves of garlic

1tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp coriander, pinch of cayenne pepper

1/3 cup of water

Salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees C. Peel the garlic and place it on a parchment lined pan. Sprinkle the spices on top and roast for 20-25 minutes until the garlic is soft.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas and add them to your blender along with the Tahini, water juice, olive oil and lemon juice. Add the garlic and spices once they’ve cooked, and blend all the ingredients together until your hummus is nice and creamy! Salt to taste.

Chickpea Pasta

This recipe is a Meal with a capital “M.” It makes enough sauce for at least four people, or ample left overs if you don’t want to share.

Ingredients

1 cup— 1 can of chickpeas (depending on how much you like chickpeas)

1 jar of crushed tomatoes (also known as “passata” for you real cooks out there)

1 onion minced

2 cloves of garlic minced

olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Pasta (I’m a big fan of some classic linguine, but up to you)

Parmesan and parsley (optional)

Coat the bottom of a sauce pot in olive oil and add your minced onion, salt and pepper. Simmer on low heat until the onion is translucent (around 15 minutes). I recommend you don’t let the onion burn. Near the end, add in the minced garlic.

Add in your jar of crushed tomatoes to the pot. Next, fill the jar up 1/2—2/3 of the way up with water, and add to the pot as well. Add in your chickpeas. Bring sauce to a boil and then immediately simmer on low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes until your sauce is sweet and your chickpeas juicy.

Make pasta according to the package and cover with your delicious sauce! I highly recommend you add parmesan and (yup, you guessed it!) parsley on top. Enjoy!

If you love to cook, want to learn, or just want to get to know some of your fellow Grad students, come check out our Recipe Share event on October 26th at 12 pm EST! We’ll be sharing our favourite recipes, funniest cooking stories, and you might even get a cookbook full of new dishes to try!

Click here to register for the Recipe Share: https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home/gradlife.htm?eventId=27319

You can check out and register for other Gradlife events on CLNx: https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home/gradlife.htm.

October 13th, 2020

Finding (and Keeping!) Focus

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

photo of a desk with a plant, laptop, pen and notebook that has "Help" written across its page

It’s approximately five weeks into the semester and my focus has left the building. To be honest with you, I don’t know when, or how it happened—I was reading like a machine, taking notes, making points, you name it!—but now, my concentration has dwindled big time.

I can no longer get through a paper without opening instagram, checking twitter, and when I’m really desperate for a distraction, even checking my email. So in an attempt to help myself regain my focus (and you know, maybe help you too) I’ve rounded up all my favourite ways to keep focus and get through that mid-semester slump (I know it’s not actually mid-semester but it feels that way ok?)

1. Turning off my wifi when I can

I know this sounds simple but I find it to be actually really effective. Although basically all the work I do is online (sound relatable?) when I’m reading papers I try to download them as PDFs. That way, I can read them and take notes without the temptation of endless distraction. And yes, even though I could easily just turn on my wifi if I want to go on twitter, sometimes I find that having that extra half-second buffer makes me ask myself, “do I really need a break right now?” and usually the answer is “No, you’ve only read 2 paragraphs since the last one.”

2. Noise cancelling headphones

Personally, I get distracted very easily and I am a very nosy person (I love to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations), so I like how noise cancelling headphones remove the temptation. What I’ve found also works really well if you don’t have/ like noise cancelling headphones is listening to classical music or rain sounds. That way you get some nice background noise without it being too distracting.

Here’s a good classical music playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYzp5rcTvU

And a rain sound play list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX6kn9_U8qk (This one is 10 hours!)

Photo of a desk with a plant, notebook, pen and laptop with sticky notes on it that read "Stop getting distracted" and "I dare you to focus."

3. Writing myself slightly aggressive sticky notes

My current favourite phrases include “You HAVE to do this today” and “STOP GETTING DISTRACTED.” I typically keep them on the front of my laptop, but when I’m really desperate I’ll stick one on the top right corner of my screen. That way the time is covered and I enter a sensory-deprivation zone of pure focus.

4. Changing out of my pajamas

It is very, very tempting to stay in my pajamas all day, and then throwing on a sweater when I have class. As comfortable as this is, I definitely feel far too comfortable to be doing any serious work. Now I’m not saying put on jeans or anything crazy like that, but even a nice pair of sweatpants or leggings seems to wake me up more than pajamas ever could.

Photo of a desk with a plant, pen, notebook and watch on it

5. Hiding my phone in another room

I know, I know this one is obvious. But my unique twist is if I’m doing work that doesn’t require a laptop, then I keep my watch on my desk. Since I have not a single clock, half the time I justify going to look at my phone/ laptop to “check on the time.” But haha! The Watch Method™ thwarts such an excuse and keeps me focused.

6. The Pomodoro technique

I’m gonna level with you: I’ve never actually used this technique before. But people are always telling me about it and I feel like this post needs at least one science-based tactic. If you’ve never heard of it, the Pomodoro technique helps you to manage your time (and focus) by having you do work for 25 minutes, and then giving you a 5 minute break. After about 4 of these cycles (called “Pomodoros”) you get a 20-minute break as a reward!

If you want more information, check out this cool article that explains the technique in detail: https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hates-productivity-hacksthe-pomodoro-technique-actually-works

Photo of a girl holding a book and a highlighter who is sitting at a desk and taking part in an online grad writing group

7. Join a Grad Study Group

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Student Life runs online Grad study groups and writing groups that provide structured time for Grad students to focus on their work, be productive, and hold each other accountable. It’s a great way to actually work from home, as the tagline goes. Between the two groups, there’s at least one session running every day, and is bound to fit your schedule!

For more information, or to sign-up, check out:

I hope my post has inspired you to get past that First-Month-Slump. If you have your own methods for keeping focus that you’d like to share, sound off in the comments below! Now, I guess I’ll go do my reading I was putting off by writing this post… 

October 5th, 2020

The 8 Stages of Stress Running

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

Ever since I started Grad school, I’ve become a big fan of the stress run—or the idea of it at least. So I thought I’d share a livestream of the thoughts I had during my last one. Maybe you’ve had some of the same!

1. I can’t look at my research anymore

And If I do… well I don’t know what will actually happen but it will probably be bad. I don’t even have enough brain cells left to consider what that would be.

cartoon drawing of girl staring at computer unhappily

2. What I really want to do is binge-watch something for a healthy couple of hours.

But then I’ll have to start a new show and that is a time commitment I just can’t make right now (well I could, but I won’t. Not for another week a least)

3. Ok here’s what I’m going to do: I’ll go on a run

Yes! This is an excellent idea. Ideas like this are what got me into Grad school in the first place.

cartoon drawing of hands tying up running shoe laces

4. This is an excellent idea

I repeat this over and over to myself as I change into what I define as running clothes but what would probably make real runners laugh. This is an excellent idea. This is an excellent idea. By the time my suspiciously old running shoes have been laced up, I no longer believe it. But it’s too late to change my mind now.

5. This was a horrible idea

It’s 20 seconds into my run. There is a concerning pain in my side. All these runners keep waving at me… Why?

6. Okay it’s getting better just gotta warm up

Nope. No It’s not.

6.5 I’ll do that thing my runner-friend told me to do where I run for a minute and then walk for a minute.

Oh no it’s been a minute of running but someone’s walking by. I guess I have to keep going, at least until they pass me. Gotta keep up appearances.

cartoon drawing of girl stopping mid run with her hands on her knees

7. There is literally no way I have only been outside for 4 minutes

In my defense though there was a hill. According to science that is the equivalent of double the time spent running (it’s not, I made that up). Okay what I’m going to do is run around the block one more time and that should round me up to a solid 10 minutes.

8. Whatever.

Six minutes is close enough. Maybe I’ll just watch one episode of something new before I get back to work…

Do my stages match-up with yours? Do you have other tips for dealing with stress? Do you actually know how to run? Let me know in the comments below!

September 28th, 2020

My Experience Starting Grad School During a Pandemic (And it’s Not All That Bad)

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

I’m not sure if this problem is particular to me, but my summer was full of Grad school dread. Rather than feel proud that I had gotten into Grad school, or excited about starting my program, I was fixated upon the fact that my experience was going to be very different from that of previous years. To make matter worse, over the summer everyone I came across—neighbours, extended family, even my dentist—would ask me what I was doing in the fall, and once I told them about grad school, the first thing they would ask is “Will it be online?”

When I would awkwardly mumble that it would be, they would reply sympathetically, “Oh, that’s too bad” or “Oh what a shame.”

And I know this wasn’t their intention, but each time this happened (and it happened a lot) I felt more and more like a sham. Until eventually, I was convinced that since I wasn’t getting a “normal” graduate experience, I was completing some sort of fake degree. In truth, this feeling of being a graduate-imposter, despite the fact that the situation is completely out of my control, upset me so much that I considered dropping out.

Cartoon drawing of a girl looking at her laptop that has a shadow of a monster behind it

And it’s not the fault of my neighbours, or my very nice dentist, that I felt this way. For on the flip side, when my friends would try to be positive about the situation I would feel like they were lying to me. The fact was, I was upset that my Graduate experience would not be the one I had pictured, and no one could change my mind. I felt as though the work and the hours I had put into my application had been a waste, and I worried that my degree would be too.

Now that the year has finally started, however, this big shadowy Grad school monster I had pictured has deflated. Of course, my experience is not the same as it has been in years past, but what I’ve also learned is that graduate school centers much more around self-directed learning than I had realized. So while I would have liked to go down to campus every day, I am still doing the same work, and learning the same material, that I would have been otherwise. This realization helped me to no longer feel as though my degree is somehow lesser than those acquired in the years before me; if anything, it’s more difficult, for grad students this year have to do the same work in a new and frankly scary way.

Photo of a pile of books
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

All this being said, I want to recognize that I am in a very privileged position to be going to graduate school in the first place, and to have a safe place to live and to study, albeit remotely.

But I wanted to write this post because in one of my seminars, the Professor gave students the space to voice their concerns about the upcoming year. Everyone spoke very openly and shared their worries about learning remotely, learning from another country, and not meeting a single one of their peers or professors in person. Hearing that other grad students have many of the same anxieties made me feel a lot better, so I thought I’d share my feelings with you.

So if you have been feeling this way, I want you to know that you’re not alone, and the work that you’re putting into your graduate degree, whether it be in the research or professional stream, a masters or PhD, is real, valuable and quite frankly very, very impressive.

If you also find sharing your experiences as a grad student helpful, or if you enjoy listening to others share theirs, Gradlife hosts tons of Grad Connections where grad students can come together and discuss a variety of topics particular to our experiences. You can check out, and register, for our upcoming events on CLNx: https://clnx.utoronto.ca/home/gradlife.htm.

September 21st, 2020

Nice to meet you!

By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

Hello everyone, my name’s Georgia and I’ll be your new Gradlife Ambassador for the upcoming year. Since you’ll be hearing from me a lot, and hopefully meeting me at some of our Gradlife events, I wanted to properly introduce myself.

I’ve just started my MA in English Literature with a collaborative specialization in Book History and Print Culture. I’m a new graduate student at U of T, so I’m learning about the school and everything it has to offer as I go. Since life as a graduate student can be difficult to navigate, whether you’re in a research or a professional program, I’m here to share my experiences as I face the various challenges of graduate life, and also to share tips and resources that may help you along your journey, whether they be from Gradlife or other places on campus.

To pass the time this summer, I tried to go camping (which was, in a word, terrible) and I tried to play tennis (also didn’t go great). Besides my failed attempts to sport, my favourite past times include drinking coffee, pretending to read, watching bad TV and procrastinating… although I won’t when it comes to letting you know about all the fun things Gradlife has in store! That’s a promise.

Now that I’ve introduced myself, I hope that you’ll come to one of our upcoming Gradlife events so that I can meet you as well. On September 24th we have our Grad Escapes night, where we’ll be playing some fun virtual board games, and our first Grad Connection will be on September 29th, where Grad students across U of T can come together and meet new people. To find out more about our upcoming events, check out the Gradlife calendar on CLNX.

Image description: Group of people playing a board game on the floor
This could be us!
(Photo by cottonbro from Pexels)

While I love being way too invested in board games, one of the main purposes of Gradlife is to help forge graduate communities across U of T, and help Grad students unwind and have a good time. I think this is especially important since we are all hard working, and understandably stressed out people. So I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events—if not one of the ones I just mentioned then one of the many others we have in store! In the meantime, if you have any questions, suggestions or just want to say hi, I can be reached at Georgia.maxwell@mail.utoronto.ca or you can follow the Gradlife twitter account @UofTGradlife.

Image description: Georgia is carrying a huge bag, 2 paddles and 2 water bottles through the woods and looks unhappy
A photo of me trying to camp. Thank you to my “friend” for capturing me at my best.

I hope to see/ hear from you soon!

Georgia

August 31st, 2020

4 Helpful Approaches to Succeed in Grad School

By: Michelle Bancroft, Summer 2020 GradLife Ambassador

As I come to the end of my first year as a graduate student, I realize there has been some really great ways in which I have approached my academic career that have been helpful to my success. Though every individual student needs to find their own groove and way of excelling, these 4 approaches have worked for me and might be something worth trying as a new or returning graduate student.

  1. Being curious
  2. Being prepared
  3. Asking ‘why’
  4. Participating in discussions
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
  • Being Curious – I am the type of person who is never satisfied by a simple answer or statement. I find it very rewarding to question the background of the authors who write articles I find fascinating. Looking up other work that authors have produced, both in and out of the direct field your researching can help you understand the personal lens they use when writing their research. I like to use the website www.researchgate.net to learn more about authors, and to find links to their other publications. Depending on the level of ubiquitous presence of the author, you can often do a regular google search to find out more about their backgrounds and areas of expertise. Additionally, researching your professors/supervisor’s research in-depth can be a great way to have an idea how they are going to teach the class and could aid you to asking more detailed questions.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
  • Be Prepared – Though it might feel daunting and overwhelming to do all the pre-readings for classes, even just having a brief glance and understanding of the main objectives and arguments of each class pre-reading can be extremely helpful. I often found myself running out of time to do all my weekly readings, however I made it point to at least read the abstract of all assigned readings and make a once sentence note about it’s premise. All of my professors have been understanding when it comes to occasionally not being able to finish all assigned readings, but I know it has been in my best interest to have made sure that I knew the basics before a class. Additionally, having assignments done before the due date has been my life-saver, as it gave me a chance to attend one-on-one appointments with peer counselors from the  Graduate Centre for Academic Communication (GCAC). However, if your in the following programs note that you have writing center support in your own faculties – Architecture, OISE, Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, Kinesiology and Physical Education, Social Work. I personally used the OISE writing center many times, just make sure you find out when assignments are due as early as possible so you can secure a spot with them as early as possible – because, spots fill up quickly!
Photo from Pexels
  • Asking ‘Why’ – In one of my very first courses, I learned about an approach to community development that is called the “5 Whys” approach. This approach is simple, yet very effective to help you think more critically about any topic. When you are struggling to understand a difficult concept ask yourself a why question about that topic. Then ask another why question about your answer, and then keep going until you have asked why at least 5 times. This technique helps you think more deeply about what is the deeper reason behind a concept, and how can you tackle it at a foundational level to make real change. The Harvard Business Review has even created a video that outlines how this process can be used to help in the business world when investigating problems. Check out that video here. Furthermore, www.asq.org is an organization focused on providing resources to help improve the quality of workplaces and has a free worksheet on the 5 whys, as well they incorporate the “5 Hows” to help you find solutions to your why questions. You can find that resource here
Photo from Pexels
  • Participating in Discussions – Graduate school can be intimidating, I know I was nervous by all of the incredibly talented and intelligent people in my program when I started. However, I realized that my course material understanding and experience of the class was drastically improved the more I participated in discussions. Not only did I realized that I knew more about the topics than I had previously thought, I found out that my unique lived experiences contributed to the discussions and many other people could relate or were enlightened from my different experiences with the topic to them. By participating in discussions I was able to open up and connect with my professors, classmates, and the material in more concrete and intimate ways! Especially in my virtual classes, it was important for me to ask questions in the chatbox, speak up when the professor paused for questions, and in breakout rooms and open discussions throughout the lecture. Though the class delivery methods might be a little different for all of us next semester, I would still highly recommend participating in class discussions!
Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels

I have been inspired to reflect on and describe the things that have helped me be successful in my first year of graduate school from an article posted on www.apa.org (American Psychological Association) written by Ali Mattu (2011) entitled “Secrets for grad school success”. This article goes through Mattu’s top 5, not so secret, secret success tips. They are as follow’s…

  1. Overcome procrastination
  2. Invest in your health
  3. Build a community
  4. Get involved
  5. Build a professional online identity

If you would like to read more about their experiences in these areas check out the article link here. I hope their tips for success as well as mine, will be helpful for you on your journey as a graduate student. If you have any additional tips, tricks or comments about this post please leave a comment below

August 6th, 2020

The Great Coffee Debate

By: Michelle Bancroft, GradLife Ambassador

“The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup!”

Has this been your anthem throughout post-graduate school? I know it has been mine! Also, your welcome, if this is your first time watching this super catchy commercial jingle that has been stuck in my head since 1996! Regardless of how often you sing songs about it your head, there is no doubt that coffee is a popular drink on university campuses, and UofT is no exception.

Almost every café on campus sells coffee, and there are many kiosks and shops just dedicated to a great cup of Joe. However, how much do you really know about it? I am going to explore some fun facts, historic linage, health claims, plus my personal experience about my favourite beverage as we explore the Great Coffee Debate!

Michelle’s Morning Coffee in Palm Dessert, California 2019

According to Jae-Hoon Bae, Jae-Hyung Park, Seung-Soon Im, and Dae-Kyu Song (2014) article Coffee and Health coffee has most likely been consumed by humans for over 1200 years and originated in Africa or the Middle East. Additionally, they found that coffee’s connection to healing has been featured in over 8,000 medical studies in the past 40 years!

My love for coffee has brought me to coffee plantations in Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Colombia to explore how these magical beans are grown and processed. Last year, I did a full day coffee tour in Medellin, Colombia. During this tour I was enlightened by their local coffee experts about the planting, growing, picking, processing, and distribution process of their coffee – it was fascinating! Below are some of my pictures of the experience.

Michelle Picking Coffee Beans in Medellin, Colombia, 2019

Now that I have fed my curiosity about where coffee has come from, the graduate student inside of me is curious about the reputable research surrounding its health claims. I have chosen to use a well-research article from the Harvard School of Public Health which found that…

“A large body of evidence suggests that consumption of caffeinated coffee does not increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancers. In fact, consumption of 3 to 5 standard cups of coffee daily has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. However, some individuals may not tolerate higher amounts of caffeine due to symptoms of jitteriness, anxiety, and insomnia.” (article and reference link)

This article dives in more deeply about each of the health claims for an against coffee, and is a great read for those of you who would like to learn more. For now, I am satisfied that my morning pick-me-up seems to positively contribute to my physical health, as well as the enjoyment I mentally and emotionally get from it.

Michelle’s Coffee in Koh Lanta, Thialand, 2018

I hope you have enjoyed this article and will appreciate your coffee a little more from now on!

July 27th, 2020

Making Connections as a New Graduate Student

By: Michelle Bancroft, GradLife Ambassador

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Recently on our GradLife Facebook page, I ran a poll to see what incoming graduate students were most excited for. Interestingly, “learning more about your area of study” and “meeting new people” tied for first place. Even though exploring your area of study is important, I am happy that many students also recognize how graduate school can be a fantastic way to meet other incredible people who share your interest in higher education, and many other areas.
When I started last September attending orientation week activities was of utmost importance to me, and I would highly recommend it. The virtual events that GradLife, Student Life, your departments, and UofT as a whole will be putting on can start a great foundation for future connections. Many of these events can be found through logging onto CLNx.  Additionally, these events can introduce you to the many diverse and exciting co-curricular programming that the university offers. Many of the connections I made were through in-person sessions, but as we shift to online events and classes it’s still important and possible to make these same connections with other students!

 

Fresh back from 6 months in Central / South America, my orientation introduced me to the Center for International Experience (CIE) Language Exchange events.  At first, this co-curricular activity was run Friday afternoons in the OISE building, but now it has migrated to an online platform mid-day on Thursdays. This group has allowed me to connect with people from all around the world and practice new languages and learn about different cultures by student instructors who have strong ties to each of the language groups they facilitate. Through the virtual platform, there are small breakout groups for one or two languages, and they allow you to form friendships with other students also interested in learning or enhancing another language.

Additionally, I was introduced to MoveU another student-run co-curricular group that does fantastic volunteer work at all three campuses of UofT. As a MoveU volunteer, I signed up to lead 5-10minute stretch breaks in various lecture rooms guiding students and staff through a much-needed movement break throughout their lecture. This was not only fun but also gave me an opportunity to meet professors and students outside of my department. As the university moves towards more online lecturing, this organization may also be moving towards virtual breaks and other departments and groups are continually looking for people comfortable to lead stretch breaks virtually.

On my orientation tour of the campus, I learned about the Multi-Faith Center on St. George campus and the interesting programming they offer. Not only do they have many different faith group gatherings, but they also host nondenominational and interfaith gatherings and discussions. I even did a mug paint night there, where we engaged in discussions about everything from religion to favourite sports teams! Later I took the Mind Fit Student Facilitator Training course which gave me co-curricular recognition on my transcript, the opportunity to lead meaningful Mindful Meditation sessions throughout the St. George campus (and now online), and the introduction to the fantastic individuals within my training session. Furthermore, the Multi-Faith Center hosts many retreats and other events that are great for meeting fellow UofT students!

 I hope I have contributed to your excitement of joining the UofT Graduate Student family! I would love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment here, on our Facebook group, or on Twitter about other aspects you’re excited for and ways that you can connect with the university and other students! Remember, even with more classes and events becoming virtual that doesn’t mean you can’t still form incredible friendships, relationships, and bonds with other graduate students!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

July 10th, 2020

Reflecting on Leadership: How to build skills for that future job through the Leadership for Grads summer series!

By: Michelle Bancroft, GradLife Ambassador

Often, I will see position postings that say “must have leadership experience”, but what does that mean and how do I as a graduate student gain that type of experience?

Picture from Student Life Website (https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/program/leadership-for-grads/)

Luckily, UofT has a great program through Clubs & Leadership Development that focuses on helping graduate students gain meaningful leadership experiential learning. They offer workshops in Leadership for Grads (L4G) each semester, including this summer and fall there is a special online version of the sessions! There are many workshops that you can attend, and if you attend 2 workshops and complete a self-directed learning reflection or 3 workshops, you are eligible for a credit on your Co-Curricular Record (CCR).

My fellow Workstudy student, Kayla, who is helping to organize these workshops, explains that;

“Our Leadership for Grads (L4G) programming dives into topics like facilitating teams, communication and conflict resolution, equity, and identifying your strengths. Using leadership theory and experiential learning, the L4G program supports students in developing key leadership skills. Although these workshops are normally run in person on campus, the leadership programming is now being offered online. What’s more, is that the new online workshops have been tailored to the nature of the current climate.” 

Picture by Markus Spiske, from Pexels.com

 Last fall, I was able to attend a Leadership for Grads Full Day Workshop which featured amazing breakout groups like ‘Making Meaning of your Leadership Journey’, ‘Facilitating a Team’, and ‘Organizational Communication’. These were very insightful interactive workshops where I was able to learn useful techniques to be a better leader in academic and workplace settings.

 

Currently, these workshops are all online a fun way to learn more about leadership, as well as interact with peers who may have similar interests to you!  I met one of my close friends during my first Leadership for Grads workshop. She is doing her Ph.D. in a completely different program than me, but we are both passionate about health and wellness and leading organizations to take better care of their employees. I have even made connections that have led to some part-time work through these connections.

Curious about which courses are available and when they are offered? Check out the below list of sessions for this summer. However, there could be some changes so always best to check clnx and the Student Life website for the most up to date information!

  • Communication & Conflict Resolution 2 (July 28, 10-11am; August 7, 1-2:15pm)
  • Group Dynamics & Team Building in a Virtual World (July 15, 1-2pm)
  • Communication & Conflict Resolution 3 (July 20, 1-2:30pm; August 11, 11am-12:30pm)
  • Facilitating Virtual Meetings (July 16, 11am-12pm; July 30 10:30-11:30am)
  • Exploring Your Strengths: Leveraging Your Natural Talents During Challenging Times (July 29, 10:30-11:45am)
  • Self-Awareness (August 12, 9-10:30am)
  • Equity 101  (July 28, 2-3:30pm)
  • Understanding & Responding to Microaggressions (July 29, 3:30-5:00pm; August 5, 9-10:30am)

Let us know how your experience is with these programs in the comments below!

L4G Student Life Website Link –> https://studentlife.utoronto.ca/program/leadership-for-grads/

CLNx Site Link –> https://clnx.utoronto.ca/ 

 

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