By RON FANFAIR
With an eye on a healthcare career, Uchechi Esonwanne was excited to be chosen to participate in the University of Toronto’s 30th annual Summer Mentorship Program (SMP).
“I wanted to explore different careers in the field and get a taste of what it is like to be on a university campus,” the 2024 cohort co-president said.
Esonwanne got to do that and more.
“We made tooth moulds at the dentistry faculty, practiced wound care with nurses and went on a tour of an anatomy museum,” she said. “We got to learn and experience a lot. We had tons of hands-on activities that provided us with healthcare sector possibilities. At the end of each day, we left feeling we could be a dentist, physiotherapist or social worker.”
If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.
The medical profession in the Greater Toronto Area has become more diverse over the years, mainly because of the SMP program for Black & Indigenous students.
“Seeing people who look like us in professions we aspire to be in made our dreams feel a little more tangible and is proof that representation matters,” added Esonwanne.
Inaya Towfik was the other co-president.
“This program allowed me to have one of my best summers,” she said. “Every day, we did something new and we were always learning. For me, joining the program created a sense of belonging and empowerment and it fostered a supportive community in the field of medicine. It allowed me to explore my interests in science, solidifying my commitment to a career.”
A total of 105 students took part in the four-week program that provided students with different health professional programs offered by the U of T Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Lawrence Bloomberg Nursing, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Science, Dentistry and Pharmacy.
At the graduation ceremony, Dr. Lisa Richardson, the Temerty Faculty of Education’s Associate Dean of Inclusion & Diversity, thanked the students for choosing to spend part of the summer with the U of T.
“Seeing these faces in this space is very emotional,” she said. “To me, it represents the purpose of this program…Seeing these portraits on the wall and knowing what the next generation of healthcare leaders, providers and scientists will look like gives me shivers of joy and love for this incredible program.”
Speaking directly to the students, Richardson said their presence in the program was an acknowledgment of their commitment to the health and well-being of people.
“I lift you up, I want to honour you and I support you,” the U of T Indigenous Medical Education Office co-founder added. “There will be times when you feel this is a hard journey. Look around this room and know you are supported not only by your friends and family, but also by your communities.”
On behalf of the Deans in Dentistry, Public Health, Nursing, Kinesiology & Physical Education, Pharmacy and Social Work, Charmaine Williams said that the SMP is a remarkable initiative that has significantly impacted the lives of many students and the community in the last three decades.
“This program is not just an educational experience,” said the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work Dean. “It can be a transformative journey that opens doors and broadens horizons. Our Faculty of Social Work is proud to be a partner in this initiative. Through our collaboration, we have witnessed first-hand the program’s profound impact on students’ lives as I am sure it is true for my colleagues in the other collaborative faculties.”
Indigenous students joined the program in 1997.
Ceremonial leader and traditional healer Kawennanoron Cynthia (Cindy) White spoke about Indigenous historical ties to the health sciences.
“For all of our main traditions and lineages, our people have had specialties of medicine in the concept of wellness,” the Elder in the Office of Indigenous Health said. “In each of our lineages, there were many medicine societies and each of them had their specialties. We called them seers and we went to them with gifts because we don’t take things without giving back as a gesture of acknowledgment of the spirit we work with and to give gratitude. We presented our problem and they performed a ceremony and told us what medicine we needed.”
In congratulating the graduates, White told them to use their training to make a difference in health care.
“Put out into the universe, ask yourself what your gifts and specialties are and how are you going to bring change to humanity,” she said.
A program participant in 2013, U of T Internal Medicine Resident Dr. Petra Famiyeh spoke to the graduates about her SMP experience.
She was a program participant in 2013.
“I saw a bulletin about the SMP at my high school, I applied and it quite literally changed my life,” said Famiyeh whose sister, Ida-Maisie Famiyeh, was also a program participant. “Just having that one month of experiencing different healthcare professions with the hands-on pieces and the panels was eye-opening.
“It showed me the opportunities that are available and made me realize that I could have support. I saw people who looked like me doing the same thing.
“Everybody who came to speak to us would tell us that we are here to help and we want to help. When I got into med school in 2019, I knew it was time to pay back because I had seen the impact of mentorship. The next year, I was one of the SMP co-ordinators.”
The former Black Medical Students’ Association President also offered words of encouragement to the graduates.
“As you move forward, try to figure out what you want to pursue and how you want to shape your lives,” Famiyeh added. “This program is a network, a sorority that you are always going to be a part of. Find out what is your joy and hold on to it. Know yourself and know your goals and be prepared to sacrifice for that. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”
The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine and the Toronto District School Board collaborated with the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in Sciences to start the pilot in 1994 because of a paucity of Blacks in health and other professional faculties at the university.
“There were huge barriers we faced in the beginning, but we found allies in the education system who were very supportive of what we were doing and that helped,” said SMP co-founder Dr. Dominick Shelton who is an emergency physician, two-time Harry Jerome Award winner and Toronto Metropolitan University School of Medicine’s Interim Assistant Dean with responsibility for Admissions & Recruitment.
One of the early supporters was the late Harold Brathwaite, Canada’s first Black Director of Education.
“This program can have a successful impact across the country,” he said at the 2008 graduation ceremony. “Imagine if we can get schools across the province and universities to build on this initiative. What this confirms is that appropriate intervention, advocacy and mentorship do work and it suggests that there are many young people out there who, if they can benefit from such a program, would add to the number of students who have been successful in our community.”
The other co-founders were Diana Alli, who spent 38 years with the U of T Faculty of Medicine before retiring in 2012, Dr. Kristine Whitehead and the late Dr. Miriam Rossi.
Starting with seven Toronto high school students interested in health sciences, a total of 1,582 youths have passed through the program in the last 30 years.
Almost all have attained undergraduate degrees and about half have completed a medical degree or professional program in health sciences.
Dr. Jason Holmes, who graduated from the program in 2003, is an Emergency Medicine Specialist and Chair of Emergency Medicine in Fayetteville, Georgia.
He was turned on to science in Grade Nine at Markham District High School after reading a prominent Black surgeon’s autobiography.
“I started doing research and talking to any doctor I came across,” Holmes said. “Then I enrolled in the SMP and that opened many doors. It introduced me to mentors, some of whom I am still in contact with and other Black & Indigenous students with an interest in health sciences. It was a stepping stone for me in that it provided a roadmap and framework.”
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from McMaster University and Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, he was an emergency physician with Piedmont Fayette Hospital in New Jersey before moving back to Georgia in 2019 with his wife and three children.
“I applied to several Canadian and American schools but was accepted by about three of them in the United States on my first try,” said Jamaican-born Holmes who did his residency at Emory University in Atlanta. “My goal was to stay in Canada. With American schools, I find that they look at life experiences and extracurricular activities.”
Kwasi Asare-Acquah is a healthcare and rehabilitation professional with OhioHealth, a non-profit and faith-based health system for about 35,000 associates, providers and volunteers.
He completed high school at Glenforest Secondary School in Mississauga before attending Western University where he graduated in 2003.
“As a young boy, my goal was to get into health care,” said the 2016 University of Alabama at Birmingham Master of Business Administration graduate. “When I got into the SMP, I thought it was a good opportunity for me. I wanted to do research, but that changed after I went through the program. It helped me realize I should not waste time on something I didn’t want to do. The program solidified my interest in health care and pointed me to physiotherapy.”
In 1998, Mitsy Allen learned of the program from her mother, a single parent raising four young children in the Jane & Finch Area. She was in Grade 12 at Regina Pacis Catholic Secondary School.
“I am so glad I applied because it has changed my life,” said the nurse practitioner who works with Unison Health & Community Services and does virtual care for New Brunswick residents. “I met mentors who guided me when I became a nurse.
“The network that I cultivated has been instrumental in my journey.”
In return for steering her towards the program, Robinson encouraged her mother to return to school which she did and became a dental assistant.
Dionne Banton, the daughter of award-winning gospel singer George Banton, was the SMP Outreach Co-ordinator this year.
