Every year, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies celebrates outstanding instructors who embody excellence in adult education. The SCS Excellence in Teaching Awards are driven by nominations from learners who feel their instructors have gone above and beyond to deliver engaging, impactful, and supportive learning experiences. 

“As educators, these instructors do more than teach – they ignite curiosity and empower learners to pursue their goals with confidence,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. “Their dedication to fostering a love for lifelong learning and their commitment to student success are truly commendable. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and contributions to the school."

The Excellence in Teaching Award winners for the 2022-2023 academic year are: 

Jessica Westhead - Creative Writing
Westhead’s learners describe her as an enthusiastic, encouraging instructor with a genuine commitment to helping them grow and improve their craft. Her inclusive teaching methods and tools keep her class materials engaging, relevant, and accessible. Her dedication, expertise, and innovative teaching strategies make her an excellent educator.

Mary McBride - Languages
McBride is described by her learners as a passionate and dedicated instructor with a wealth of knowledge to share. She ensures that her learners feel comfortable, supported and valued and goes above and beyond to help them master the languages she teaches. 

Laetitia Walbert - Languages
Learners say Walbert is s an exceptional French teacher whose dedication to her craft is demonstrated through her meticulous preparation and her ability to tailor lessons to suit diverse learning styles. With a patient and supportive approach, she offers clear, engaging, and well-structured classes that make learning both enjoyable and effective.

Bernard Feder - Marketing and Communications
Feder’s learners describe him as a dedicated, knowledgeable and kind instructor. He exudes energy and passion for his subject matter and cultivates a respectful classroom environment. He is an excellent communicator and challenges learners to think critically.

J. Kent Messum - Creative Writing
Kent Messum’s learners describe him an instructor who teaches by example. He is  extremely organized and fosters a respectful and supportive environment for the writers in his classes while providing meaningful feedback to help learners’ skills and confidence grow. 

Jayna Grassel - Marketing and Communications
Learners say Grassel is a dedicated, innovative instructor who has a profound impact on their learning experiences. She provides personalized support and creates an inclusive classroom environment. Her enthusiasm and passion for the subject she teaches are infectious, inspiring learners to strive for excellence. 

Stephan Dyer - Career Development and Communications Skills
Dyer is described by his learners as an exceptional presenter who is passionate and motivated to pass along his skills. He fosters a strong sense of community in the classroom and provides detailed, constructive feedback.

Ed Burns - Business, Finance and Management
Burns’ learners say it is immediately clear how much he loves sharing his knowledge and empowering the people in his classrooms to make an impact in their workplaces with the tools he introduces them to. He approaches teaching with enthusiasm, passion, kindness, and humour.

Barbara Isherwood - Visual Art and Architecture
Learners say Isherwood is a gifted instructor who creates an inviting and accessible environment where anyone can learn about art, regardless of their level of knowledge. She is engaging, knowledgeable, passionate, and respectful, and her enthusiasm for her subject matter is infectious. 
 

The University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies has launched its accessibility plan for 2024 to 2027. 

In addition to laying out SCS accessibility goals, the plan includes information on the school’s AODA working group, and highlights EDI-related achievements, such as the creation of accessibility guidelines for subject matter experts who develop courses with SCS; participation in the Moving Towards Opportunity (MTO) Program; and a panel on navigating disability in the workplace. 

“EDI is a core value of our division, and we strive to build our culture around these principles. Our purpose is to strengthen human potential one individual, one organization and one community at a time,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. 

“SCS is focused on ensuring all members of our SCS eco-system are supported and can access our working, learning, teaching, and collaboration environments in an inclusive, meaningful, and barrier-free way.”

Please visit our EDI page to read the full accessibility plan.   

Each year, the Penguin Random House Canada Student Award for Fiction is awarded to an SCS creative writing learner whose work and commitment to creative expression inspires us. This year’s first place prize has been awarded to Ruth Taylor.

Two prizes have also been awarded to this year's runners up: Joanne Lam and Katarina Young .
 

WINNER ($2,500 PRIZE):

HONOURABLE MENTIONS ($1,000 PRIZE EACH):

This month SCS marketing instructor Alison Garwood-Jones launched “I Miss My Mommy”, a graphic novel for orphaned adults. 

Following the back-to-back losses of her parents in 2011 and 2012, Garwood-Jones originally started working on the drawings that would eventually fill her book as a way for her to process her own experience. 

“For a long time I focused on writing as my main art, largely because I was earning a living as a magazine feature writer, but after my parents passed, I picked up my pen again. Drawing, for me, and I think for all people, is an easy way into different kinds of emotions,” she says.

At the time, Garwood-Jones wasn’t ready to deal with big emotions, and found the idea of processing them through large-scale art, whether it be large, intimidating paintings, or epic orchestral music, didn’t work for her. 

“That’s how some big pieces of art made me feel during the height of the grief, is remoteness, like big orchestral numbers, I can't listen to Wagner or even Mozart when I'm grieving, that's too big, I need to go small. I've always loved the expression ‘think small’.  We live in a culture that's very ‘go big or go home’, and I think when it comes to tough topics, thinking small is actually more powerful, because it gives people a way into something tough through something manageable,“ she explains.

“I found that spot illustrations, which is what this book relies on, were an effective way for me to process my own emotions.”

When Garwood-Jones shared those illustrations on social media she found that other people dealing with grief could instantly relate and connect emotionally to what the illustrations represented. For example, one illustration simply features a pile of boxes. 

“I thought, Gen Xers who've lost their parents, same with Baby Boomers, are going to understand boxes, because on these boxes, you're going to have labels like kitchen supplies, books, office supplies, this is all the stuff that's left behind after a life,” she says. 

“Part of grief is dealing with the admin tasks, with the storage units, and if I can show those responsibilities that the kids take on afterwards, just through a drawing of a pile of boxes, then maybe I can connect with people on a level that makes them feel seen, or maybe sometimes just gives them a bit of a chuckle. I don't know if I achieved it but I'm going for, not just comfort and compassion, but a little comic relief maybe.”

Garwood-Jones says these days she looks at grief as two things. “It’s dealing first with absence, like, ‘oh, my God, mom and dad are gone, they're never coming back’. And then it's dealing with presence. And the rest of your life, you're dealing with their presence,” she explains.

“For some people, that's an inspiration, because it carries you forward, the lessons they taught you, and what they showed you in terms of how they were resilient in life and how they handled challenges. If they did it in a way that was level -headed and strong, that is a gift that keeps on giving. So somehow in the aftermath of death, you're left with inspiration, if you're lucky. But a lot of people are left just feeling plain injured. You know, and because their parents, for whatever reason, again, couldn't be the parents they needed. Some people are not meant to be parents, but they still have kids, and it leaves behind a lot of injured souls. So I wanted my book to show that as well. There's a lot of walking wounded out there.”

Marketing a book on grief is a particularly delicate operation, and Garwood-Jones says that while of course she hopes the book will reach people it might help, she wants to connect with her audience in a way that feels authentic. 

“I'm part of that generation of writers now, and it's picking up steam big time, who wants to bypass Amazon, and sell directly to my readers. We live in an age where you can bypass the middlemen and the middlewomen. We've seen that in music with Taylor Swift and Beyonce. And I think writers are catching on now that there's a lot of technology out there, from a content platform point of view, from an e-commerce point of view, from a distribution point of view, that we can handle this on our own,” she says. 

“It's a steep learning curve. But I mean, legacy media is burning, and there are other ways. From burnt earth, there comes little green shoots. And I think one of the green shoots that is growing right now is this growing awareness from authors, by authors, that I can have this direct relationship with my audience and I can grow that. It's not the route to go if you want to be rich and famous. But if you care about your topic, and you care about what your audience would need from you in terms of your topic, you can grow something on a very sort of one-on-one basis slowly. It's a marathon, not a sprint.”

Garwood-Jones says it all makes for the perfect case study she can take back to her SCS classes. 

“Right now is a very, very interesting time to be putting something new out onto the internet because the internet is a mess right now. It's scrambled eggs, and part of the reason it's scrambled eggs is that it's been flooded with AI-generated content. There's a ton of synthetic content out there that's been trained on content by humans,” she says. 

“So the question is how do I rise above the noise and create something unique with a new point of view and a unique voice and a more compelling approach to a particular topic. This is where I've got to test things out. I can take this back to class and say, ‘okay, when I went really super long tail on the topic of grief, did that help with my ranking in terms of, not being necessarily an expert, but being someone who is joining the conversation online about grief?’”

Another thing Garwood-Jones says she will take back to her class is that she is taking a very one-on-one approach to marketing such a personal book. “I actually do want to have a meaningful one-on-one connection with every single person that purchases from me and sends me a note,” she says. 

“So I'm writing handwritten notes, sending them back a thank you with a custom bookmark for their book. I do that because I want them to feel good, but being kind makes me feel good. One of the best remedies for when you're feeling depressed or sad or stuck is to help somebody else. Do something nice for somebody else,” she says. 

“I know that that doesn't work for clinical depression and I'm not an expert at all, but for when we've got the blues or the mean reds, as Audrey Hepburn used to like to say, doing something kind for somebody else and connecting with them can really help.”

Alison Garwood-Jones is a Toronto-based author, illustrator, and podcast host. She started her career as an art historian working at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Musée d'Orsay in Paris and The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and went on to become a magazine editor (Elle) and feature writer with a focus on culture, technology, and health. 

She currently teaches: Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy and Social Media; Digital Communications Strategy: Defining Your Business Objective; Digital Communications Strategy: Content Marketing and Distribution; and Writing Digital Content. 
 

This week, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) marked the successful conclusion of the BRIEF-Law program with a ceremony and celebration recognizing the hard work of women law professionals from around the world who took part in the program. 

BRIEF-Law is a pre-bridging program designed to prepare women who are internationally-trained law professionals for entry into specialized bridging or employment programs in Canada. 

Participants had their education and transferable skills, as well as their English language proficiency assessed. Then they attended a personalized selection of School of Continuing Studies English language classes, micro courses, and career coaching hand-picked to help prepare them to apply their unique skills and experience to successfully transition into the Canadian labour market. 

“It is so exciting to have SCS be a part of these brilliant women’s pathways from successful law careers in their countries of origin to what we have no doubt will be equally valuable and impressive work here in Canada,” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. 

In addition to the English classes, micro courses, and career coaching, participants took part in mentorships with senior legal professionals, networking events with justices of the Ontario Court, Supreme Court of Canada and law students, leadership skills workshops, and a series of law career-related conversation workshops featuring Faculty of Law alumni; academic advising and workshops; presentations from diverse sectors to provide insight into alternative careers; and occupation-specific job search and employment preparation, including resume writing and interview skills through ACCES Employment’s How to Find a Job program.

“I have loved seeing the women go through each component and seeing them communicate in a way that’s more confident the further they moved through the program,” says SCS Career Services program administrator Carla Gomez.  

Participant Freshta Karimi studied law in Afghanistan and was the founder and executive director of a Legal Aid Organization there for 17 years before relocating to Canada. She was excited to join the BRIEF-Law program to foster her network and connections in the Canadian law field and learn more about the legal system here. 

Karimi says she would highly recommend that other women legal professionals newly arrived in Canada seek out a program like BRIEF-Law. 

“This program provides a lot of good information and learning in a short period of time which is a career-accelerating opportunity for professionals,” she explains. 

“It is not easy to start everything from the beginning, but as legal professionals who we spent most of our lives working in the legal field, it would be a waste of knowledge if we don’t continue to achieve and catch up on our past experience and knowledge. There are good opportunities for women such as this program and we have to use these opportunities to get back on our path.”

One of SCS’s new courses being offered this spring is The Writer as Entrepreneur. We asked course instructor Neil Seeman to share a bit about the inspiration behind the course, and some of the benefits he feels it will bring to our learners.

SCS: “You’ve been an entrepreneur in different fields and an author. What inspired you to meld these different identities to teach a new course in the Creative Writing Program?”

Neil Seeman: “I saw that writers work harder and are more entrepreneurial than most start-up entrepreneurs I know. But writers need supports on how to go from conceiving their idea to selling it to agents, publishers, and to readers across the world. Writers face far tougher market tests than business entrepreneurs. It’s harder to secure a decent publishing deal than to secure venture capital. You have more high highs and low lows in any day as a writer. Rejection meets you at every turn. Steve Jobs said an entrepreneur seeks to dent the universe. That sounds like every writer I’ve known. It’s also Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, Solzhenitsyn, Toni Morrison, and George Orwell.”

SCS: “What differentiates this course from others like it across the world?”

Neil Seeman: “First, I’m inviting students to reconsider authors like Mary Shelley and Dickens as struggling “ideas entrepreneurs”. Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities were vehicles for Dickens to advocate for social policy reform. Shelley rebuked prevailing social and scientific assumptions through the power of storytelling. Taking learners through the prickly path that the great authors before us took will humanize and make possible what may, at first, seem impossible. Second, I distill the work of great business strategists and entrepreneurs – like the late Clayton Christensen – into how to mould what I call a “baby-steps strategy” to meet an author’s personal goals. These goals will be different for each author. That may be landing an amazing agent or publisher, or amplifying one’s voice for a new, bigger stage across the world. A strategy will dictate how to allocate your scarce time and resources. Third, our intimate classroom will insist that we listen to one another, offering shareable insights into self-care amid periods of solitude and self-critique.”
 
SCS: “What other things can people learn from this course that they cannot learn from artificial intelligence or other existing courses?”

Neil Seeman: “Writing a book of meaning is a high-touch experience. A successful author needs to be vulnerable, to lie on an operating table under the gaze of agents, publicists, editors, publishers, distributors, reviewers, fans, and critics. You’ll learn to love the critics. Writing is the opposite of an anodyne interaction with an AI. Learners will have their individual strategic plans for their writing projects poked at by peers in class. Learners will emerge emboldened. I will hold learners accountable, just like a board of directors would hold any entrepreneur to account. That means ensuring that we design short- and long-term goals that are measurable and meaningful.”

Neil Seeman is teaching a new course at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies called “The Writer as Entrepreneur” — drawing on his work as a serial entrepreneur, writer, publisher, and mental health advocate. Learners will apply entrepreneurship, business strategy, and self-care principles to conceive, plan, and publish their book. The course runs May 7, 2024 - July 9, 202, in-class, Tuesdays, St. George Campus, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM.
 

After fifteen years as an elected official, Michelle Mungall was ready to try something new. She discovered the Creative Writing program at SCS, and after honing her skills with us, will now be featured as a regular opinion contributor for the Vancouver Sun.

Mungall developed a passion for politics early in life.

“I fell in love with politics as a six year-old girl in pigtails listening to the grown-ups in my family talk about Brian Mulroney and the 1984 election. Something about the whole conversation and idea of voting hooked me instantly,” she explains.

“About the same time, I discovered I was an ardent feminist when a neighbourhood boy pushed me off the snowbank to declare he was the king of the castle and I was to clean up after the dirty rascals.”

That passion followed her into adulthood, where Mungall was determined to blaze many trails for women in politics, which included being the first Member of the Legislative Assembly to bring her baby into British Columbia’s Legislative House.

While she had always enjoyed writing, Mungall says she never thought of herself as a writer.

“It was just something I did, and wanted to do well, as part of my other responsibilities,” she says.  

“When I retired from public life, though, I wanted to do something more creative, and found myself buying a new laptop and signing up for the creative writing certificate program.”

Mungall says she will certainly be able to apply what she learned through the program in her pieces for The Sun, as well as a memoir she has in the works.

“My writing has leveled-up more than I could have imagined. I’m a way better storyteller now,” she says.

“I really started to think about the voice and tone I use when telling a story. As a politician, there’s always an element of distance when communicating with your audience, even when being as open as you possibly can. That was deeply ingrained in me, and my instructors and classmates really forced me to look at this over and over again, challenging me to let readers into the story more deeply. I can still hear them and am rewriting sentences all the time with this in mind.”

As a working parent to young children, Mungall says one of the challenges of writing is simply finding the time to do it, and that getting her memoirs down on paper is its own particular hurdle.

“Accessing memories for a memoir is tricky, especially when you’re a tired mom of toddlers. I mean, it’s a win to remember to turn on the dishwasher,” she says.

“My instructors had excellent ways to dig into my own mental files for great stories.”

Mungall has kept in touch with those SCS instructors who have helped her along in her learning and writing journey. “It’s something special when you find people who are genuinely interested in supporting your success,” she says.

Getting feedback from her fellow students in class was also incredibly valuable, says Mungall.

“It was like a testing ground for ideas on how to tell a story and make a piece even better.”

Her advice to anyone considering taking an SCS creative writing course or certificates is simple:

“Dive in and soak up as much as you can.”

Mungall’s opinion contributions  on everything from workplace issues for politicians or minimum wage workers, to energy transition, to human rights, housing, childcare, healthcare and parking will be featured in the Vancouver Sun beginning this spring. She hopes to tackle hot topics in a thought-provoking way that gets conversations going.

Hospital administrator Haleh Rahimi only had a basic understanding of what project management entailed when she started her first course at the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) just a couple of years ago. Now she has successfully completed the notoriously challenging Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. 

While her natural affinity for project management was evident to her colleagues at Mount Sinai even before she began studying the subject, Rahimi credits her SCS Project Management certificate courses, and in particular the PMI® Authorized PMP® Exam Prep course, and instructor Peter Monkhouse with her success in earning her official PMP designation from the Project Management Institute. 

“This course is so worth it,” she says. “It’s a professor-taught course where you are led through the modules and the exam application process, and like the other SCS project management courses, the modules are recorded so you can go back and review them at your convenience.”

Despite hearing how challenging the exam could be from friends and colleagues who had attempted it in the past, after taking the course and following Monkhouse’s advice, Rahimi says she felt ready to tackle it. 

“I’ve heard roughly 30% of people who write it actually pass the exam. It’s very panic-inducing when you hear that but I had so much confidence that I wouldn’t have had trying to achieve this without the guidance Peter offered. He even looked over my resumé before I sent in my application,” she explains. 

“It feels like I had a one-on-one personal trainer for passing the PMP.”

The SCS PMP prep course includes over 3000 up-to-date practice questions and 6 simulated PMP® practice exams, which learners have access to for 12 months. 

When she submitted her exam, Rahimi says she felt confident. “I hadn’t run out of time, and the questions had been so familiar after doing the prep course mock exams. It was tricky but I knew how to apply the knowledge. So by the end, I just wanted to go lie down on my bed and do nothing for the rest of the day, but I felt good, she laughs.”

PMP hopefuls have the option to write online or in person, and Rahimi says that in addition to walking them through the application process, Monkhouse even gave her and her classmates advice on which option would suit their individual needs. “I wrote it in person at a test centre, and they give you your results on the spot. It’s very scary, but Peter had prepared us with advice on everything from what to expect on your 10-minute break to what kind of snacks to bring, so there were no stressful surprises,” she says. 

“He even goes above and beyond and keeps a schedule of which of his students are writing when and he texted me in the morning to say good luck and to remind me that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I didn’t pass the first time.”

Rahimi says she was thrilled to find that she had indeed passed. With just over a minute per question, her main concern in writing the exam was time management. “But Peter had taught us how to read the questions efficiently,” she explains. 

“He told us not to write the exam until we were getting a particular percentage on the mock exam, without running out of time, and only when you can do that, are you ready to attempt the real thing.” 

Rahimi’s first call after getting her passing result was to her father, a project management engineer. “He couldn’t believe it because he knows how hard the exam is. He has even had workers who were offered raises if they would go and get their PMP designation and they couldn’t do it.”

Rahimi plans to put her new certification to good use. “I love my job but I’m ready for a new challenge,” she says. “I knew I could have started applying for full-time roles after I completed my first three SCS courses, but when you do a little bit of research, everyone is talking about the PMP,” she says. 

“Every time you see a project management-related job posting, it says the PMP designation will be a great asset to your application.” 

Rahimi is now hoping to find a permanent project management role. She feels confident that by adding the PMP designation to her previous education and experience, she is now well-positioned to find her dream PM role within healthcare. 

Given her experience, Rahimi says that her first piece of advice for anyone else hoping to pass the PMP exam is to take the PMI® Authorized PMP® Exam Prep course at SCS. “I kept in touch with a few people from my certificate courses and we checked in with each other after a few months to ask if anyone had done the PMP exam, and most of them had tried and failed,” she shares. 

“The only one who had passed was a guy who had taken the SCS PMP prep course.”

“The only other advice I would give to anyone wanting to take the PMP exam would be that when the instructor tells you that you need to practice, take it seriously, because sitting down for four hours and answering practical questions is something you really need to prepare for,” Rahimi says.

It's a very tough exam, she emphasizes. “It would be so tough to do on your own, I would almost use the word impossible, but I feel like if you take the PMP prep course, follow the instructor’s guidance exactly, and commit to those invaluable mock exams, you will be successful.”

Networking can be a powerful tool for career advancement. It can help you build your confidence, exchange ideas, and provide pathways to new opportunities. Networking expert and SCS instructor Jean Chow shares three tips for networking in multicultural settings. 

1. Consider The Platinum Rule vs The Golden Rule

Most people know The Golden Rule – Treat others how you want to be treated. Yet it’s not always the best way to approach people. You only know how you want to be treated, your background, your cultural upbringing, your standards.

The Platinum Rule is an important shift in perspective which challenges you to treat others how they want to be treated.

So how do we know how they want to be treated? Applying the Platinum Rule involves understanding and respecting the unique preferences of individuals in various contexts, (including cultural context), developing meaningful relationships, and offering helpful collaboration.

2. Humility helps

Don’t think you’re the smartest person in the room. Listen more. Have a beginner’s mindset. In Japanese, the word “shoshin” means “beginner’s mind.” You may find it refreshing and freeing when you learn to let go of your preconceptions and have an attitude of openness when learning

3. Be culturally curious and sensitive

Do you work on a multicultural team and/or work for a multinational company? Often, the answer is “Yes!” Look around. In our professional and personal lives, we may all speak the same language but this doesn’t necessarily translate into engagement and collaboration. Communication is not so straightforward. English is widely spoken in the following countries: Canada, U.S., U.K., Ghana, and Australia, and yet our cultures are different.

Whether you are an emerging or established leader, our course Fearless Networking – Connecting Across Cultures can help you learn more about your own communication style and discover how it can be further developed to facilitate successful professional networking and meaningful relationships. 

Super connector and SCS instructor Jean Chow is currently focused on her successful professional coaching practice, aptly known on social media as @MsBizWiz, she also hosts the “Dream Network”, a highly diverse, international professional networking organization, which she founded in 2018. Jean knows instinctively what could be and is excited by the prospect of connecting people, ideas, and projects to get things done or to create something bigger and better. No longer active on the squash court (now Pickleball!), she is delighted her squash network continues to thrive and help others. Jean enjoys spending time as a volunteer mentor helping youth recognize and realize their potential and is writing a field guide about her intelligent approach to successful networking.

Megan Fleming had her eye on a new career pathway when she decided to register for the first course in the School of Continuing Studies Digital Strategy and Communications Management certificate. 

“I really wanted to increase my skills and expertise in digital communications strategy and social media beyond my experiences in using social media personally and on a volunteer basis. I was looking towards transitioning into a different role on my team if it were to become available or find another similar role at U of T in Communications & Knowledge Translation,” she explains.

Her manager was fully supportive of her desire to add new skills to her resume, seeing the potential benefit to both Fleming and the team she worked with, and encouraged her to take advantage of the courses available through SCS.  

Sure enough, Fleming has been able to use the knowledge she acquired through her SCS courses as she made the transition from Research Administrative Assistant to Communications & Knowledge Translation Officer.

“This role is way more up my alley, and I feel confident and prepared to fulfill its responsibilities thanks to a lot of what I learned through this certificate,” she says.

“I’m still learning as I go, but I constantly find myself returning to my course notes to support my work.”

For Fleming, one of the most valuable takeaways of the certificate came early in the first course: that her storytelling didn’t always need to be perfect to be effective. 

“As part of my course, Foundations of Digital Communications Strategy & Social Media, I was to create my own website, blog, and, optionally, podcast. I’m a keener, so I challenged myself to start my first podcast at the intersection of health promotion and communications,” she shares. 

“This course truly encouraged me to just get the episodes out there, but I was able to learn as I went about how to do so strategically. While I’m still thinking about what the future of this podcast holds, I’m so thankful for the push from this course to get me to try out a different communications medium.”

In fact, Fleming says trying her hand at podcasting wound up being some of her favourite coursework.

“I started my own podcast entitled Holding Healthy Space, which was all about communicating about health and social issues in a transparent, respectful, equitable, and empowering way,” she says.

“I was able to connect with a friend who works as a boundaries and burnout coach to chat about her work and how to hold space on social media for self-proclaimed people-pleasers and overachievers, and I developed and shared a whole episode about how to encourage our loved ones to engage in healthier behaviours, sharing a framework with the audience to keep in their health communication toolkit when holding healthy space. This project was so rewarding and fun!”

The biggest challenge Fleming came across in completing her courses was simply to carve out the time, but she says that assignments tailored to learners’ choice of topics meant she really looked forward to doing her homework. She believes the certificate in Digital Strategy and Communications Management could be useful to anyone wanting to be on top of the latest trends in social media and digital communications, particularly emerging communications specialists or anyone using digital communications and social media as part of their work.

Based on her experience, Fleming shares her advice for other people exploring lifelong learning at the University of Toronto: 

“Find ways to make it exciting for you, and if you can’t, it might not be for you! There’s always a way to bring in a personal touch into the assignments or find ways to apply the teachings to your own work.”

This year the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies marks 50 years since its official founding in 1974, but its history stretches back much further. 

The roots of lifelong learning at the University of Toronto date back to 1872 when evening classes focused on practical competencies and skill building were introduced. Throughout the 1900s, the school evolved to include a three-year certificate course in business, and a series of mail-based courses for men stationed in England and prisoners of war in Germany.  

To meet cultural and technological changes in the 1950s, new courses were developed in areas such as transistor electronics, atomic energy, construction management, retail lumbering, pre-stressed concrete, and executive development for women. Liberal arts classes and refresher courses were offered, as were courses to help newcomers to Canada adapt to their new country. In 1973, the certificate course Teaching English as a Second Language (T.E.S.L.) was developed.  

In 1974, the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (SCS) was officially founded. At this time, course offerings included business and professional studies, creative writing, arts and science courses, as well as an English language program for newcomers keen to pursue higher education and career opportunities in Canada. 

Since then, SCS has continued to evolve to meet changing technology, workplace priorities, learner interests, and cultural shifts. 

Today SCS continues to offer an ever-expanding, up-to-date roster of in-person and online courses and certificates, designed to help learners meet their personal and professional goals. In recent years the school has also expanded its service offerings to include educational credential assessment, organizational and corporate training, PSE preparedness, and career services. 

“It is amazing to look back and see how far we’ve come, and particularly how SCS has always embraced transformation and was in-step with social and workplace transformations” says SCS Dean Catherine Chandler-Crichlow. “One thing that has been consistent over the past 50 years has been the school’s ability to pivot and adapt to the needs of our communities. I know our staff, instructors and partners remain dedicated to bringing accessible, relevant education and services to our learners. I’m so excited to see SCS continue to expand and evolve to help more and more people meet their lifelong learning goals.   

To celebrate 50 years of lifelong learning, the School will be sharing the perspectives of SCS community members and how learning with SCS has impacted their lives. 

Keep an eye on our social media to be inspired by their stories and to hear about our 50th anniversary-themed events and giveaways throughout the year. 

We’re kicking things off with four chances to win $499 towards your next SCS course. Visit us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram for details and your chance to win!

1. Move Your Career Forward

   Prepare for and decide on the next bold step in your career with the help of our one-on-one coaching, workshops, and free resources through the Blueprint Career Services portal.

2. Learn a Language 

   Our language courses and certificates can help you learn or improve your skills in a wide variety of languages, while our popular English Language program can help you reach your academic, professional, or personal English Language goals.

3. Improve Your Cognitive Health 

   Learning new information and skills can help your brain to keep growing and maintain neuroplasticity, which can help with memory, learning, depression, and can even aid in recovery from strokes or traumatic brain injuries.

4. Build a More Fulfilling Social Life 

   Growing your social circle as an adult can be challenging! We love seeing our learners connect with people who share a common interest with them and build new lifelong friendships.

5. Improve Your Project Management Abilities 

   Project management continues to be an in-demand skill set across sectors. Make 2024 the year you develop this skill set for yourself, or prepare to formalize the skills you already have with a Project Management Institute certification.

6. Start Your Memoirs

   You’ve got stories to tell. Find your writing community and let our expert creative writing instructors guide you in telling those stories in a clear and compelling way. Not quite ready for memoirs? Check out our wide variety of other writing genres to explore.

7. Update Your Marketing Skills 

   With the explosion of AI technology over the past few years, there has never been a better time to ensure your marketing skills and toolkit are current and competitive. Our expert marketing and communications instructors are passionate about doing just that and about passing on their up-to-date knowledge to help you future-proof your marketing career.

8. Become An Effective Leader 

   Whether you already lead a team or you aspire to take on a leadership role within your organization this year, our leadership program can help you develop the skills and mindset of a great leader.

9. Earn A Professional Certification or Designation

   You know what your skills and abilities are. Now let potential employers know by earning an in-demand designation to add to your resumé. Whether you are working towards earning a professional designation or certification, or need to maintain your credential with continuing education requirements, we have partner-recognized courses and certificates to help you succeed on your journey forward

10. Become More Mindful 

    If your goal this year is to seek more discipline, tolerance, calm, and mental clarity, the courses and certificates in our mindfulness program can help make 2024 your most mindful year yet!