Inspiring Change through Mentorship

From a young age, Omar Abdelgawad felt a strong sense of justice. He grew up in Parkdale, and then Regent Park, and was sometimes stopped and questioned by the police, simply because he was a young, racialized man walking down the street. “It created a fear and mistrust toward the police in the community,” he says.

When his school librarian sent himself and a group of other kids to the office, Omar voiced his disagreement. “I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be in trouble, so I explained myself, in great detail,” he recalls. His teacher, Helen Wolfe, who students affectionately called Miss Helen, let him stay behind. “She looked straight into my eyes and she told me, “If you don't become a lawyer, I'm gonna be very disappointed in you.”

Becoming a lawyer wasn’t something Abdelgawad had considered before this point. “Growing up in the community, we don't see these types of jobs as attainable. When people think of making real money, they think of being a rapper or a basketball player.” But Miss Helen’s comment lit up another pathway. Abdelgawad started seeking out opportunities to build his advocacy skills, like public speaking and leadership programs in the community, and he helped set up a youth council at his school.

The strong sense of place Abdelgawad felt in his community was interrupted when, to accommodate the Regent Park Revitalization Plan, Abdelgawad was relocated, along with his mom and sister, to a low-income neighbourhood in Toronto’s west end. Unlike in Regent Park, where it felt like everyone knew everyone, he didn’t have his bearings. “I remember having to run home because there were gunshots,” he says. He knew youth relocated to other neighbourhoods who were shot. “In a new community, you don’t have that awareness that would alarm you to maybe take a different way home.”

Abdelgawad acted out at first in school, overwhelmed by the trauma of the move, but through the support of his church community and his parents – who immigrated to Canada from Egypt and the Philippines – Abdelgawad found himself again. “There were times I wouldn’t see my mom because she was still working when I was going to sleep. I realize, looking back, how hard my parents worked so that I didn’t feel like I lived in poverty. I felt like I had everything growing up,” he recalls.

After graduating from high school, Abdelgawad began pursuing his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Government at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2017. A year later, Abdelgawad and his family were able to move back to a Toronto Community Housing building in Regent Park, but services for youth were scant. A few years later, in the aftermath of COVID, the situation grew worse with a stark rise in gun violence and neighbourhood instability.

“For months, a nearby but dilapidated Toronto Community Housing parking lot used by new tenants was the scene of multiple violent incidents and shootings. A friend of mine lost their life following a horrific drive-by attack that riddled the neighbourhood with bullets and fear.”

Becoming an advocate for Regent Park youth

In 2021, Abdelgawad completed his BA and made the decision to apply to the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. The choice was obvious. “I saw Lincoln Alexander Law as a place where my identity and lived experiences would be valued, and where my aspirations as a future lawyer would be galvanized. I knew the law school’s values aligned with my own, and reflected the principled lawyer I am hoping to become - one that represents the underserved and serves their community with compassion.”

After receiving his offer of admission in 2022, Abdelgawad thought, “I’m about to start law school. Let me use my voice to address the insecurity in my neighbourhood.” He joined Toronto Police and Toronto Community Housing committees, and advocated for policy changes in the depleted northside of Regent Park, including safer parking lots, programming for youth, and resources for those settling back into the neighbourhood. “This shift into community activism was a ‘cry for help’ to preserve our lives,” Abdelgawad recalls.

From there, he applied for City of Toronto funding to launch a youth program, called Building Leaders For Change. During his first two years of law school, he held weekly sessions with 50 youth leaders. He brought in guest speakers, including artists, lawyers, and politicians, to help facilitate workshops and discussions. He also exposed youth to new experiences, including producing podcasts with TMU students at MetRadio and spending a day at a law office, where students engaged in a mock courtroom and received help preparing their arguments from the firm’s lawyers.

These efforts have not gone unnoticed. Abdelgawad was recently honoured with a 2025 MENtors Award from the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC), which recognizes male mentors who have made a meaningful impact within TCHC communities through their exceptional mentorship and community service.

In his first year at Lincoln Alexander Law, Abdelgawad received the B. Denham Jolly Racial Justice Award in recognition of his commitment to anti-racism through his advocacy work in the Regent Park community. The entrance award was established by Mr. Jolly, a renowned business leader, human rights activist, and philanthropist who notably changed the landscape of Canadian media in 2001 by launching FLOW 93.5, the country’s first Black-owned radio station. For his many contributions, Mr. Jolly was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2020.

“When I met Mr. Jolly, I could see the depth of his passion in his eyes. Being in the same room with him was inspiring. I recognized that he didn't wait until he was established in his career to help out. He gave back throughout his journey.”

In his second year, Abdelgawad served as an elected student member on TMU’s Board of Governors. “It’s really a welcoming and friendly environment. You see how much work it takes to implement a new initiative in a university.” As a member of the Board, Abdelgawad connected with Anamika Baijnath, Director of Experiential Learning, Quality Assurance and Strategic Initiatives at TMU’s Faculty of Community Services, to establish a placement program with TMU’s Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at the Nelson Mandela Park Public School, an elementary school in Regent Park.

This past summer, Abdelgawad completed his third-year placement at Justice For Children and Youth (external link)  (JFCY), which provides legal services for young people in Ontario, with a special focus on unhoused and undocumented young people. While Abdelgawad had always wanted to pursue criminal law, his experience at JFCY opened his eyes to the need for lawyers with competencies in both criminal and immigration law, who could better serve marginalized communities in Toronto. “Doing my placement in the summer allowed me to change my course selections to reflect my new interest,” he says.

Abdelgawad had to put Building Leaders For Change on hold this past year to focus on his placement and studying for the Bar Exam, but he continues to hold occasional mentorship sessions and guest speaker events for youth. He hopes to restart the program in the coming months. 

The impact Abdelgawad has been able to create in two years has already been life-changing. Just as Miss Helen changed his trajectory, he’s inspired many young people to consider law. When he recently asked participants in the program about their life goals, he was taken aback by the number of people who said they wanted to be a lawyer. “I realized it’s because I’m a law student and they look up to me. To see the change that I had made by just my visibility was really impactful for me.” He had a full-circle sense of what it must have felt like for Miss Helen, when he emailed her to tell her about the impact she had on his life.

Whether the students that Abdelgawad has mentored pursue law or another career, higher education now feels more accessible to them. “TMU has a lot of partnerships with the Regent Park community and downtown communities. I wanted them to realize, ‘this is not foreign ground. You belong here too.’”