University Family Housing / en A former boxer and fitness trainer, 老司机直播 grad finds his calling in academic research /news/i-m-loving-it-former-boxer-and-fitness-trainer-u-t-grad-finds-his-calling-academic-research <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">A former boxer and fitness trainer, 老司机直播 grad finds his calling in academic research</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/kyle-and-logan-new-pic-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=e4F96-Wv 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/kyle-and-logan-new-pic-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=o0EogeE_ 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/kyle-and-logan-new-pic-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=CHokDt2j 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/kyle-and-logan-new-pic-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=e4F96-Wv" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-11-10T15:55:55-05:00" title="Thursday, November 10, 2022 - 15:55" class="datetime">Thu, 11/10/2022 - 15:55</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Kyle Farwell, pictured here with his son Logan, graduated this week with a bachelor of kinesiology degree and is already pursuing his graduate studies (photo courtesy of Kyle Farwell)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/jelena-damjanovic" hreflang="en">Jelena Damjanovic</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/convocation-2022" hreflang="en">Convocation 2022</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-family-housing" hreflang="en">University Family Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-stories" hreflang="en">Graduate Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>Kyle Farwell&nbsp;</strong>devoted most of his 20s to amateur boxing, hoping to one day qualify for the Olympics.</p> <p>鈥淚t consumed my life,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was all about getting in the boxing gym before work, after work, on the weekends.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>He qualified for the Commonwealth Games, but eventually decided not to pursue a boxing career further. Instead, he turned to personal training, which occupied the next 13 years of his life&nbsp;鈥 and ultimately&nbsp;led him to study kinesiology at the University of Toronto.<br> <br> 鈥淚 was still working as a certified personal trainer full time when I started my undergraduate degree,鈥 says Farwell, who graduated this week&nbsp;from the&nbsp;Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education (KPE).&nbsp;</p> <p>He says&nbsp;wanted to learn more about the knowledge and research that underpinned his industry.<br> <br> 鈥淚 worked really hard to be good at my job and felt rewarded when my input was required to assess clients and train new staff, but I always wondered, 鈥榃hy are we doing things this way?' For example, if somebody鈥檚 knee goes, how do we know that it鈥檚&nbsp;this&nbsp;muscle that鈥檚 failing, that we need to strengthen? The fitness industry can sometimes speak in absolutes.鈥<br> <br> On top of having an inquisitive mind, Farwell had personal reasons for going back to school. After undergoing&nbsp;back surgery several&nbsp;years ago, he decided&nbsp;working in a gym wasn鈥檛 helping his recovery. He also&nbsp;had a young family to think about:&nbsp;a wife and son.&nbsp;<br> <br> 鈥淐oincidentally, the Ontario government was starting to supplement OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program) with more grants towards mature students,鈥 Farwell says. 鈥淚 didn't want to ask myself later in life 鈥 or have my son ask me 鈥 鈥榃hat were you doing when they were giving away free education?鈥 I wanted to have a good answer for that.鈥<br> <br> So, he applied to kinesiology at 老司机直播 and never looked back&nbsp;鈥 even applying to do research over the summer months.&nbsp;<br> <br> 鈥淚 had such a great time in my first year that&nbsp;I didn't want to just take two months off or work over the summer,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 knew I would miss being on campus, so I jumped at the opportunity to apply for undergraduate research.鈥<br> <br> He worked with Associate Professor&nbsp;<strong>Katherine Tamminen</strong>&nbsp;from KPE鈥檚 Sport and Performance Psychology lab to explore athletes鈥 emotional responses to injury. Not only could Farwell personally&nbsp;relate to the research, he says he was soon 鈥渉ooked on it鈥 and credits Tamminen for helping to launch&nbsp;his academic research career.&nbsp;鈥淚 love running into Professor Tamminen and telling her that when I see her,鈥 he says.&nbsp;<br> <br> Another highlight: a cadaver anatomy dissection project with Assistant Professor&nbsp;<strong>David Frost </strong>that was co-supervised by<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Associate Professor&nbsp;<strong>Judi Laprade</strong>&nbsp;from 老司机直播鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine, KPE Assistant Professor&nbsp;<strong>Timothy Burkhart </strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Tyson Beach</strong>, now a lecturer in biomechanics at the University of Waterloo.&nbsp;<br> <br> 鈥淭hat was an incredible experience,鈥 says Farwell. 鈥淚 was literally working with spines every day. There was so much to take in.鈥</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/kyle.JPG" style="width: 750px; height: 394px;"></p> <p><em>(Image via University of Toronto)</em></p> <p>Beyond his coursework and research, Farwell has fond memories the three years he spent living in <a href="https://universityfamilyhousing.utoronto.ca/">Student Family Housing</a> on Charles Street.&nbsp;<br> <br> 鈥淚t was such a cool time in our life,鈥 he says. 鈥淢y son Logan had daycare across the hall from one of my classes, so I鈥檇 bring him to daycare and then just walk across the hall to my class and everybody got to meet him and talk to him and give him&nbsp;high fives.鈥<br> <br> The only challenge during his studies was time, 鈥渂ut there鈥檚 nothing unique to that,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t was hard to balance everything, but the [KPE] offers tremendous resources 鈥 you just have to use them.鈥&nbsp;<br> <br> His advice to students coming behind him? 鈥淒o ordinary things really well.&nbsp;There鈥檚 nothing unique to me, but what I did well is I showed up to every class. I don't think I missed a class in undergrad. I sat in the front row. I asked questions when I had them. I didn't care what people thought of me, even though everybody was great. I did the readings. Anybody can do that.<br> <br> 鈥淭his is a good program and everybody worked hard to get here, so don't take your foot off the gas now that you鈥檙e here.鈥<br> <br> Farwell certainly didn鈥檛.&nbsp;He鈥檚 already&nbsp;working on a master鈥檚 degree in kinesiology with Frost as his supervisor.<br> <br> 鈥淚鈥檓 loving it,鈥 he says. 鈥淏ecause of the research I did in my undergrad, I already have some data to back up some of the things that I plan to investigate for my master thesis 鈥 specifically, how certain constraints affect different movement features in an individual.<br> <br> 鈥淚 love the research process, but my real interest is in applying that knowledge to the general population in a meaningful way.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 10 Nov 2022 20:55:55 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 178084 at 老司机直播 explores university housing development at Bloor and Spadina /news/u-t-explores-university-housing-development-bloor-and-spadina <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">老司机直播 explores university housing development at Bloor and Spadina</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/2022-03-08-Site-1-UTS-Schools-%289%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=SCiLMlx2 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/2022-03-08-Site-1-UTS-Schools-%289%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=yk8sI6E1 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/2022-03-08-Site-1-UTS-Schools-%289%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Po2RFLbl 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/2022-03-08-Site-1-UTS-Schools-%289%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=SCiLMlx2" alt="UTS Schools"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-03-16T17:49:32-04:00" title="Wednesday, March 16, 2022 - 17:49" class="datetime">Wed, 03/16/2022 - 17:49</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>The proposed development of 鈥淪ite 1,鈥 visible at the southeast corner of Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue, would provide academic space and housing for 老司机直播 students, faculty and staff, as well as their families (photo by Johnny Guatto)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-family-housing" hreflang="en">University Family Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/four-corners" hreflang="en">Four Corners</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/scott-mabury" hreflang="en">Scott Mabury</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/school-continuing-studies" hreflang="en">School of Continuing Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-george" hreflang="en">St. George</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">The University of Toronto is in the early stages of exploring how the northwest corner of the St. George campus can be revitalized to provide much-needed and attainable university housing, including academic and amenity space 鈥 all while supplying carbon-friendly energy and advancing Indigenous place-making.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The proposed development of 鈥淪ite 1鈥 鈥 bounded by Bloor Street West, Spadina Avenue, Huron Street and Washington Avenue 鈥 would provide hundreds of apartment-style units for students, faculty and staff, as well as their families. It would also provide academic space for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) and the School of Continuing Studies, and would continue to host the University of Toronto Schools, which is a current occupant of 371 Bloor West.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Envisioned as a major gateway into the northwest quadrant of the St. George campus, the proposed development also aims to better link the university with the surrounding neighbourhood and provide more open spaces for community-geared activities.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><b>Scott Mabury</b>, 老司机直播鈥檚 vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, said the Site 1 project exemplifies 老司机直播鈥檚 <a href="https://realestate.utoronto.ca/four-corners/#:~:text=What%20is%204%20Corners%3F,appropriate%20returns%20to%20the%20University.">Four Corners Strategy</a>,&nbsp;which seeks to advance the university鈥檚 mission to build much-needed university housing and innovation space while also contributing to the university overall and enhancing the vitality of city life.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭his site, located at a prominent downtown intersection, represents a unique opportunity for 老司机直播 to help address its growing need for housing, provide renewed academic space and enrich the surrounding neighbourhood,鈥 Mabury said.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">He added that the site would also house an energy centre and electrical distribution hub that would make important contributions to 老司机直播鈥檚 ambitious goal of achieving <a href="https://climatepositive.utoronto.ca/">a climate-positive St. George campus by 2050</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭his site serves as an ideal location from which to supply the northwest quadrant of the St. George campus with energy derived from high-efficiency, zero-carbon technologies,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s such, it will play a vital role in helping us meet our greenhouse gas reduction targets.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The project is currently in its nascent stages and has not yet gone to the university鈥檚 Governing Council for consideration. Consultation is underway through a working group 鈥 led by the local city councillor and involving neighbourhood associations, student groups and campus stakeholders 鈥揳s the university seeks early input on how the property can advance the university鈥檚 mission while supporting local planning goals and reinforcing the neighbourhood鈥檚 character.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Due to the complexity of the project, the university plans to seek the expertise of the development industry to help support its project delivery and<i><u>&nbsp;</u></i>aims to select a development partner this summer. Selection of the design team will follow in late 2022 or early 2023 and there will be ongoing consultation throughout the design phase leading to the project鈥檚 development application and municipal approval process. It is expected that construction on the project could begin near the end of 2024 and be completed by 2028.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><b>Shannon Simpson</b>, 老司机直播鈥檚 director of Indigenous initiatives, said the project will establish an engagement process to help members of the Indigenous community share their thoughts on how design choices, landscaping and common spaces can be harnessed to foster Indigenous acknowledgement and placemaking at the site.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭here was a time when the Indigenous community wouldn鈥檛 be brought into conversation early enough 鈥 so we would have ideas, but it would be too late to implement a lot of them,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ow, people at 老司机直播 are really embracing bringing us into the conversation early on.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">To that end, Simpson said First Nations House is being engaged to help amplify student voices while consultations are also being planned with Indigenous faculty, staff, Elders and Knowledge Keepers.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">She noted the commitment to Indigenous engagement is important given that the Bloor and Spadina area is home to the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council, Wigwamen Terrace housing and the Spadina Road branch of the Toronto Public Library 鈥 reputed for its strong collection of Indigenous literature.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚t鈥檚 a little piece of Indigenous community in Toronto, so it鈥檚 a special corner,鈥 Simpson said, adding that the proposed redevelopment stands to benefit both Indigenous Peoples and the broader 老司机直播 community.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淲hether if it鈥檚 a common room or study space that鈥檚 named after one of the Indigenous host territories, or a bench that has elements of Indigeneity, or native plants and medicines in and around the area 鈥 those kinds of things are important and meaningful for Indigenous students,鈥 Simpson said. 鈥淭he Indigenous community will obviously, 100 percent benefit from that, but I think everyone 鈥 every student, staff, faculty and community member 鈥 will benefit from being a part of these spaces.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淪o, I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 something that 老司机直播 or the City of Toronto are just doing for the Indigenous population. It really is for everyone.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">At present, Site 1 envisions the construction of two taller residential towers that would be integrated with the heritage building at 371 Bloor Street West. With 600 to 700 apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms, the new buildings would help meet the growing demand for attainable university housing 鈥 accommodation that enables 老司机直播 community members and their families, including those coming from abroad, to live close to campus without having to participate in the competitive Toronto housing market.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">While housing arrangements are crucial for students, they are also important for faculty members making the transition to 老司机直播 and Toronto.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭he fact that the university is able to provide some new faculty with a place to live as they take up their research and teaching at 老司机直播 enables them to embed themselves immediately in the community they are joining,鈥 said <b>Melanie Woodin</b>, dean of the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, which is 老司机直播鈥檚 largest faculty.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淛ust as with students, faculty members living on campus will have the opportunity to absorb the vibrant energy of the 老司机直播 community and reap the benefits of being steps away from their home departments, their peers and colleagues, and the students they can expect to engage with daily.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">At the same time, the creation of new academic space for OISE would ensure that it maintains its longstanding relationship with the University of Toronto Schools, while continuing the more than 115-year history of teacher education programs at 371 Bloor St. West. The space provided to the School of Continuing Studies, meanwhile, would support the university鈥檚 commitment to lifelong learning.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The surface parking lot that currently dominates the block would be moved underground, allowing for increased open space. The proposed development envisions a passageway to connect Matt Cohen Park to the Huron Washington Parkette 鈥 and then onward into campus via the campus open space network. It also envisions the house forms along Washington Avenue being integrated into the proposed development to maintain the streetscape. On all sides, the development would be designed to transition appropriately to the surrounding area, from the Huron-Sussex and Annex neighbourhoods to the south and west respectively to the more urban character of Bloor Street to the north.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The redevelopment would also create new accessible open spaces for pedestrians and enhance the public realm.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">When it comes to supporting 老司机直播鈥檚 climate-positive campus plan, Site 1 would play a key role by housing energy facilities discreetly integrated into the fabric of the 371 Bloor Street West building. That includes an underground nodal plant or energy centre, which would provide low-temperature heating water, chilled water and carbon-friendly energy to the immediate facility as well as campus buildings in the Huron Sussex neighbourhood.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The nodal plant will utilize a proposed geo-exchange field located under the facility to store surplus heat generated by building systems in the summer to be used for heating in the winter. The field will improve the efficiency of the heating and cooling systems while decreasing carbon emissions significantly.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Finally, the facility would be home to a central electrical distribution substation 鈥 one of five on the St. George campus.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Going forward, Mabury said the Site 1 project planning team looks forward to working with the community and its development partners to re-imagine a key part of the St. George campus for the future.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淔rom providing more attainable housing and sustainable energy to forging better connections through the neighbourhood and providing welcoming spaces for Indigenous Peoples, this project seeks to advance the many shared goals of the university and the community around it,鈥 Mabury said.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淲e want this corner of campus to stand out as a jewel 鈥 not just for the university, but for the entire city.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 16 Mar 2022 21:49:32 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 301140 at 鈥楢 wonderful community鈥: 老司机直播 students on the benefits of university family housing /news/wonderful-community-u-t-students-benefits-university-family-housing <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">鈥楢 wonderful community鈥: 老司机直播 students on the benefits of university family housing</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/2022-02-09-Yasmin-Aboelzahab-%2812%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=k4XE7ykE 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-05/2022-02-09-Yasmin-Aboelzahab-%2812%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xm5TLxaO 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-05/2022-02-09-Yasmin-Aboelzahab-%2812%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=j94mH3jX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/2022-02-09-Yasmin-Aboelzahab-%2812%29-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=k4XE7ykE" alt="Master's candidate Yasmin Aboelzahab (centre, right) is pictured with her husband Samir, as well as their children Salma and Adam"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-02-10T16:53:40-05:00" title="Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 16:53" class="datetime">Thu, 02/10/2022 - 16:53</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Master's candidate Yasmin Aboelzahab (centre, right) is pictured with her husband Samir, as well as their children Salma and Adam, outside of 老司机直播's family housing at 30 and 35 Charles Street West (photo by Johnny Guatto)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-family-housing" hreflang="en">University Family Housing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/scott-mabury" hreflang="en">Scott Mabury</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-health-policy-management-and-evaluation" hreflang="en">Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/laboratory-medicine-and-pathobiology" hreflang="en">Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mathematics" hreflang="en">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-george" hreflang="en">St. George</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/translational-research-program" hreflang="en">Translational Research Program</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">Raising a young family while pursuing a graduate degree isn鈥檛 easy. Doing it in a new country far from home 鈥 and in a city with sky-high housing prices 鈥 is even more complicated.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">For<b> Yasmin Aboelzahab</b>, a mother of two and master of health sciences candidate at the University of Toronto鈥檚 Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the challenges have been alleviated by living in 老司机直播鈥檚 Student Family Housing, which provides attainable downtown accommodation for 老司机直播 students and their families.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">She, her husband and their two children live in one of the roughly 700 apartments at 老司机直播鈥檚 high-rise student family housing at 30 and 35 Charles Street West. Tenants are full-time 老司机直播 students who are living with a spouse or common-law partner, or who have custody of one or two children.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淟iving here is very convenient, mainly because of the location,鈥 says Aboelzahab, who is originally from Egypt and is in the Translational Research Program in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚t鈥檚 downtown, so it鈥檚 walking distance from all the places you want to go: grocery stores, the pediatrician, the TTC and the university.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Aboelzahab and her family originally moved into their Charles Street West unit when her husband was doing his PhD at 老司机直播. At the time, her daughter was only one year old. Now aged seven, her daughter attends a school in the neighbourhood while Aboelzahab鈥檚 three-year-old son goes to the daycare centre located in the building, which offers priority to student families who are residents.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">They are also regulars at the building鈥檚 free drop-in centre, which organizes programs and services aimed at helping students and their children socialize.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Aboelzahab says easy access to such amenities has been a huge help, but the biggest advantage of family housing is living among a supportive and diverse community.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚鈥檝e had the chance to meet people from a wide range of cultures. It鈥檚 a mirror image of what Canadian society looks like,鈥 she says. 鈥淭his is really helpful when this is your first contact when you鈥檙e in Canada and moving from another country to Canada, and [people] should take the benefits of living in such a community.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚t鈥檚 a wonderful community for me.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Unsurprisingly in a city as expensive as Toronto, the demand for accommodation for students and their families is high. As of late 2021, the wait list for family housing at 老司机直播鈥檚 Charles Street West apartments and smaller units in the Huron-Sussex neighbourhood stood at 995 鈥 a figure that would likely be higher if not for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">As demand continues to grow, 老司机直播 has been exploring ways to build more family housing units through projects such as laneway infill housing. <a href="/news/beautifully-designed-and-beautifully-built-u-t-unveils-new-laneway-infill-housing">Two laneway homes and a single-family dwelling on Huron Street were recently constructed</a> as part of a pilot project in Huron-Sussex, where 老司机直播 plans to build more low-rise infill housing for university families.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><b>Scott Mabury</b>, 老司机直播鈥檚 vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships, said that housing is among the most important factors for students and faculty who are considering bringing their talents to 老司机直播, particularly if they're coming from abroad 鈥 but it's also one of the most difficult things to arrange.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to overstate the importance of attainable and conveniently located accommodations for student families and faculty coming to the University of Toronto,鈥 Mabury said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檝e made housing one of the pillars of our Four Corners Strategy, which aims to provide the spaces the university needs to advance its mission.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淲e quite simply have to deliver more housing options and we are absolutely committed to leveraging our significant real estate assets and building partnerships to do so.鈥</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div style="margin-bottom: 11px;"> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/Sujata-Mishra-crop.jpeg" width="300" height="300" alt="Sujata Mishra"> </div> </div> <em>Sujata Mishra</em></div> </div> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Like<b> </b>Aboelzahab, <b>Sujata Mishra</b>, a PhD student at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health who also lives at Charles Street West, also sees community as one of the biggest advantages of 老司机直播鈥檚 student family housing.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭hese buildings mostly house international students who don鈥檛 have social capital 鈥 they don鈥檛 have parents, they don鈥檛 have families and they just recently moved,鈥 says Mishra, who is originally from India. 鈥淪o it allows us to make friends with people from different cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities. It gives you a sense of belonging in that everybody鈥檚 in a similar boat.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淓verybody鈥檚 trying to finish up their studies, and they have families. The problems and the struggles are fairly similar, so you can build a support system around that.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Mishra notes that residence management takes a proactive role in developing programming to forge a sense of community among residents, even if it has been temporarily curtailed by the pandemic. 鈥淵ou can develop a sense of community, friendships and talk to each other. So there is this social interaction that happens, which is great.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">She says the extent and importance of her social interactions increased 鈥渕any-fold鈥 after she gave birth to her daughter, who is now three.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;鈥淭his was my first child, and I鈥檓 away from home,鈥 Mishra says. 鈥淪o, I was constantly needing support to understand how the daycare system in Toronto works, how the subsidy system works, where do I send her to school, how does the schooling work 鈥 because of all these things are quite different than where we come from.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚t really helped me build community and have friends with whom I could talk, discuss and get information.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">老司机直播 is also looking to grow its stock of faculty housing, which offers a limited number of unfurnished rental units to newly and recently appointed faculty. At present, new faculty can expect to wait a year or more before they can be offered an apartment.</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <div style="margin-bottom: 11px;"> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/William-Yu-crop.jpeg" width="300" height="300" alt="William Yu"> </div> </div> <em>Yun (William) Yu</em></div> </div> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><b>Yun (William) Yu</b>, an assistant professor in the department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, says the opportunity to live in faculty housing on campus helped ease his transition to 老司机直播 in 2019 after completing his post-doctoral work at Harvard University.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淭he faculty housing accommodation was incredibly helpful in making the logistics of moving to Canada so much easier,鈥 says Yu, who lives in a rowhouse unit in Huron-Sussex. 鈥淭he Toronto rental market is quite difficult, and not having to think about that meant one less item that I had to check off.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Yu says housing is a 鈥渞easonably large bonus鈥 for faculty who are offered positions at 老司机直播.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淛ust the convenience of not having to think about logistics while moving 鈥 and it is in a brilliant location,鈥 says Yu, who notes that the Bahen Centre, where he does his graduate teaching, is only a 10 to 15-minute walk from his home.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淟iving on campus did make me feel more welcome. It really allows me to feel like a part of the university.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">As for Aboelzahab, she is actively taking steps to ensure others enjoy the same sense of community that has embraced her family. Since September 2020, she has been serving as a residence adviser and is responsible for orienting new residents, educating community members on policies and running programming.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">鈥淚 was so impressed by the resources and services provided to me and my family,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 thought it鈥檚 time to give back and take an active organizational role in the community.鈥</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 10 Feb 2022 21:53:40 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 172548 at 老司机直播 staff recognized at annual OREP BBQ & Awards /bulletin/u-t-staff-recognized-annual-orep-bbq-awards <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">老司机直播 staff recognized at annual OREP BBQ &amp; Awards </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ksoobria</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-10-20T12:50:39-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 20, 2021 - 12:50" class="datetime">Wed, 10/20/2021 - 12:50</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The 6th annual Operations &amp; Real Estate Partnerships (OREP) Thank You BBQ &amp; Awards event took place at Varsity Stadium on October 5 to recognize and celebrate exceptional staff and team contributions over the past year and a half.</p> <p>Over 470 OREP staff had RSVP鈥檇, and guests were entertained throughout the event with music from the Faculty of Music鈥檚 steel pan band as they enjoyed food prepared by the culinary team at 老司机直播鈥檚 Food Services. The names and award citations for the 119 individual and team recipients of awards were noted on the jumbotron, which also served to convey social distancing rules throughout the event. Staff were clearly excited to be able to gather together as a team, safely but socially, for the first time since the 2019 BBQ &amp; Awards event.</p> <p>Since its inception in 2015, the OREP Award ceremony has honoured over 400 OREP and shared services staff for their exceptional contributions to their particular OREP unit, the OREP portfolio and the university.</p> <p>鈥淚t鈥檚 important to celebrate the efforts of our staff members that often happen behind the scenes, particularly during the pandemic,鈥 says Professor Scott Mabury, vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships. 鈥淥ur folks have gone above and beyond to keep our people safe and facilities operational.&nbsp; These awards are one way to recognize the incredible talent, compassion and dedication of our staff.鈥</p> <p>Using the <a href="https://ehs.utoronto.ca/covid-19-information/">Event Assessment Tool (EAT)</a> to apply COVID-19 exposure-reducing controls, strategies and precautions, the event was a great example of how teams can work within the restrictions to host morale boosting, fun events to celebrate staff and to herald the return to campus by many of our staff.&nbsp; &nbsp;.</p> <p>The awards were divided into three categories: Outstanding Individual Employee Awards, Distinguished Service Awards and Outstanding Team Awards.</p> <p>Recipients of the Outstanding Individual Employee Awards were recognized for their outstanding contributions that went beyond the ordinary fulfillment of their positions鈥 duties. Examples included adapting and creating children鈥檚 programming for virtual platforms for University Family Housing, leading groups to revise the Food Services鈥 operating procedures in response to COVID-19, supporting students concerned about their housing and getting home to their families during the mass move out in March 2020.</p> <p>Distinguished Service Awards were given to six employees with more than 15 years of service at the university who have also made outstanding contributions beyond their ordinary duties. Among the recipients at this year鈥檚 ceremony, several had been with the university for more than 30 years.</p> <p>The Outstanding Staff Team Awards were presented to teams who took on time-limited projects. Recipients included the Proactive Disinfection Team which coordinated almost daily cleaning of spaces across the St. George campus, the cross-portfolio Quarantine Housing Program team for developing and managing a program to support the safe entry and reentry of the university鈥檚 international students, and the Community Policing Initiatives teams for organizing their Holiday Toy Drive for under privileged children and Spring Sock Drive the homeless. In total, 11 teams, including 93 members from across the university, were recognized.</p> <p><a href="https://vporep.utoronto.ca/orep-hosts-6th-sort-of-annual-orep-bbq-awards-event-at-varsity-stadium/">Read the recap and full list of winners on the Vice President Operations and Real Estate Partnerships website.</a></p> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-caption field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>老司机直播 staff recognized at annual OREP BBQ &amp; Award</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/orep-lead-2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BJ1Jg50L 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/orep-lead-2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Z7VbGh_Q 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/orep-lead-2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=J9Qycylj 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/orep-lead-2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BJ1Jg50L" alt> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-cutline field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Photo by Jackie Shapiro</div> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden clearfix"> <ul class="links field__items"> <li><a href="/news/tags/operations-real-estate-partnerships" hreflang="en">Operations &amp; Real Estate Partnerships</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/scott-maybury" hreflang="en">Scott Maybury</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/varsity-stadium" hreflang="en">Varsity Stadium</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/food-services" hreflang="en">Food Services</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/faculty-music" hreflang="en">Faculty of Music</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/university-family-housing" hreflang="en">University Family Housing</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/covid-19" hreflang="en">COVID-19</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/community-policing-initiatives" hreflang="en">Community Policing Initiatives</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/quarantine-housing-program" hreflang="en">Quarantine Housing Program</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/proactive-disinfection-team" hreflang="en">Proactive Disinfection Team</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/event-assessment-tool" hreflang="en">Event Assessment Tool</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kevin Soobrian</div> <div class="field field--name-field-hide field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> Wed, 20 Oct 2021 16:50:39 +0000 ksoobria 170940 at