Top 3 Student Life and Learning Support Services for Incoming Students

For many, transitioning from high school to university feels like going from swimming in a pond with your pals to taking a polar plunge into Lake Ontario. That’s why Toronto Metropolitan University's (TMU) Student Life and Learning Support Services (SLLS) can act as your life-jacket as you transition into university. Here are my top three SLLS services for incoming students.

These SLLS services and events are tailored to incoming students at TMU. 1st Year Experience is an awesome service that helps students navigate their transition into university life by providing information and guidance through Orientation and the first few weeks of university. Additionally SLLS is hosting Summer Jumpstart, which is a summer program that provides various events, workshops and experiences for students and guardians to prepare for their first year of university. For example, if you took a gap year (like myself) and feel like you want to dust off your writing skills, Summer Jumpstart will have a workshop for you. If you are a student who has no idea what a school day at TMU looks like, you can get a glimpse while you attend mini lectures and get the chance to connect with your peers and various staff members at TMU. Summer Jumpstart activities will begin July 10, so make sure to keep an eye on your inbox for more information.

The Tri-Mentoring Program is an awesome service that I think often goes under the radar. If you are entering your first year, you can join the Peer Mentoring Program where you will be matched with an upper-year student from your program. This is honestly a cheat-code in my opinion because if I was able to mentor my first-year self nowadays, I think I would have had a smoother start to university. TMP is a program I wish I engaged with more in my first year because my classmates that did participate instantly became more connected with the community surrounding our program. TMP’s services don’t stop at Peer Mentoring — they also offer Career Mentoring and Group Mentoring, so be sure to check out the Tri-Mentoring Program page to figure out what’s right for you!

The Events and Campus Life page is the best way to stay in the know about the many events that happen at TMU throughout the year. You can view events related to student clubs, academic support, leadership, on-campus paid opportunities and many more fun events that happen regularly at TMU. I would suggest getting involved with these events as soon as you can. Whether it’s clubs related to your interests or getting a paid experience while developing your professional skills, get out there and get going. A regret of mine is that during my first two years of university, I hardly got connected with anything extracurricular, and I was finding my university experience a little bit lackluster. The moment I made the decision to get involved and take part in the many experiences and opportunities available at TMU was the moment I really felt happy about my university experience. If you want to keep track of the ongoing events throughout the school year, I will also point you towards TMU’s Upcoming Events (opens in new window)  page as many of the SLLS events will also be advertised here in addition to the hundreds of events hosted by the various communities at TMU.

Be sure to check out the many SLLS services available to TMU students as I am sure you will find something to help support you as you get started and throughout your university journey!