STUDENT PERSONAS
Fictional representations of real student data
PERSONAS
THEO
They/them
2nd year graduate student
Identifies as neurodivergent
Commuter student
KIANA
She/her
Humanities Student
International student from Hawaii
Works part-time
NOODIN
She/her
5th year student
Identifies as Indigenous
Recently moved with her daughter to the GTA
MÍA
She/they
2nd year social science student
Biracial and non-binary
Grew up in a rural town in Ontario
JI-HO
She/her
3rd year engineering student
Considers herself plus-sized
Exploring U of T movement programs
PRANLAL
He/him
4th year science student
Lives with a mobility disability
MIN
She/they
2nd year humanities student
Young mom to a 3-year old son
Domestic student who lives in the GTA
IVANA
She/her
Researcher in graduate school
First generation university student
2-hour commute to campus
SAMSON
He/him
1st year undergraduate student
Domestic student living away from his family
Relies on university spaces and services
LUIS
He/him
2nd year humanities student
International student
Has to find a job after graduation
ADE
He/him
2nd year PhD math student
Identifies as a Black mature student
Occasionally requires a cane
RACHEL
She/her
1st year science student
Has ADHD, anxiety, and a learning disability
Lives with parents and commutes
RAJESH
He/him
5th year music student
Has a traumatic brain injury
Returning after a 2-year leave of absence
AFRIYIE
He/him
1st year at the School of the Environment
Black student from Ghana
Newcomer from a big family
CAROLINE
She/her
3rd year undergraduate student
From a religious minority
Domestic student
USING PERSONAS
Personas are a useful design thinking tool that help university faculty, staff, and student leaders to understand students more deeply by reading stories of their lived experiences. Personas are data-driven aggregates of experience that help humanize the needs and reflections of people as shared with us during our design research data collection. Teams can use personas in strategic planning and when planning programs and services. Looking at personas can help teams think about the diverse range of student needs and compare them to current programs, services, policies, practices and spaces to find gaps. Personas also help to build empathy for the complex and intersectional identities students hold and the unique challenges they face. If you have any questions about the personas and our research, we'd love to hear from you.
INNOVATION HUB DOMAINS
We co-created domains of innovation for our work with students, staff, and faculty. The domains are categories for our work written in an aspirational way. Each persona has aspects of one or more domain in their story.
LEARN ABOUT OUR WORK
EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH