Author: danielle

With the year wrapped up, a lot of my friends at the iSchool, U of T's Faculty of Information, have been joking that we're now "half masters." We've got one more year to go in the Master's of Information (MI) program, and at the risk of sounding totally cliched, it really feels like time flew by this past year. The concept that I'll be walking on stage at Convocation Hall a second time just a year from now seems wild and way too soon! But for now, I've still got summer classes, an internship, and a whole year of courses standing between my graduation gown and I.

With Work Study positions being posted on April 18, I talked to Laura, a recent grad, about her experience as a Work Study student. Work Study positions allow students enrolled in courses to get paid work experience on campus. In her third and fourth years at U of T, Laura worked as the Assistant to the Theatre Manager at the George Ignatieff Theatre at Trinity College through the program.

We still have a month of exams ahead of us, but summer is just around the corner and I could not be happier about it! Every day, its sunnier a bit longer and just a little bit warmer and it has a really positive impact on my mood and energy. But for me, this summer is going to look a lot like this whole year. Just like during the year, I'll be working part-time and taking classes. At first, I worried that I wouldn't really get a summer break and I'd be totally burnt out by the time the fall semester started. But then I found a part-time summer job on campus; now, I'll be doing really interesting work in my area of study, and I will be able to easily line up my courses with my work schedule so I'm able to have time in the week to relax, get outside, and enjoy the sunny weather. It can be tough to find a summer job, but there a lot of ways that resources at U of T can help you get started.

One of the best ways to take a study break and feel great is to get involved with a volunteer initiative! It's hard for any student to take on commitments outside of the classroom — but volunteering is fun, rewarding, and gives you a sense of accomplishment that you are helping to make your community a better one.

  Finding off-campus housing is a challenge that many U of T students will face. When I looked for my first apartment after living in residence in first year, I looked at over a a dozen places, and almost fell for a scam in the process! Eventually I found a place with a great roommate, but it wasn't easy. It's hard to find a place that meets your needs, stays close to campus, and stays within your budget — but the new off campus housing website from Housing Services just made it all a bit easier!

March 15 is the University of Toronto’s 189th birthday, and to celebrate, I’m counting down with a list of great moments in U of T’s history each decade since its establishment in 1827. Earlier this week, we looked at the origins of football, anthropology, and a U of T president with a unique talent - check out the post here. Today, we’re moving all the way up to the present day, starting in the 1920s with one of the most significant findings in the history of medicine.

On March 15, the University of Toronto celebrates 189 years of teaching, learning, and discovering. To mark the university's birthday, over the next two weeks, I’m counting down to the big day by looking back at great moments in U of T’s history each decade since its establishment in 1827.

Do you have an IDeA for how to make the world easier to navigate for your peers that experience barriers to accessibility? The 2016 Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) Student Competition wants to hear from you! IDeA is a design competition for Ontario undergraduate students which challenges you to come up with innovative solutions to accessibility issues. As an individual or with a team, participating in the competition empowers you to connect with industry, government and community partners to identify an issue, build a plan to tackle it, and implement your solution. Among several reasons why you should think about putting your name into the competition include the opportunity to network with community partners, cash prizes, a sweet resume line, and, most importantly, the opportunity to make a difference in peoples' lives. To give you an idea of what kind of projects fit the bill for IDeA, let's take a look at some finalists from U of T over the past few years.