Navigating Life’s Transitions: Supporting Young Adults
- Date
- October 26, 2023
- Time
- 1:00 PM EDT - 2:00 PM EDT
- Location
- Live online via Zoom webinar
- Contact
- Jennifer Hicks, jenhicks@torontomu.ca
Description:
Life’s transitions can prove challenging, particularly for young adults who may grapple with the demands of pivotal moments in life. With all of the excitement that starting university, college or your first job can bring, these significant changes can also give rise to anxiety and stress. How can we provide better guidance to young adults through these critical phases of life? What support, assistance and skills are essential for managing the stress that accompanies such transitions? Join us for an important discussion with recent TMU graduates, student support leads and program managers who work with young adults about some of the services available to this group, their families and supporters.
Moderator:
Daina Astwood-George (she/her)
Director, Student Communications, Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, TMU
Daina Astwood-George is the Director, Student Communications in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students at TMU. With a focus on the student life cycle and ensuring efforts are complementary to TMU’s broader communications objectives, she provides vision and strategic direction to the design and implementation of meaningful communication to students to deliver on the university’s commitment to support exceptional student experiences. A proficient writer, Daina also freelances for Rakuten Kobo Inc., and has been fortunate to interview actors, authors and industry leaders for her ongoing Follow the Reader series with the company.
Speakers:
Natasha D’Antimo (she/her)
Care Lead, Student Integrated Health and Wellbeing, TMU
Natasha D’Antimo is the Care Lead with the Student Health and Wellbeing Department at TMU. She has been working with the university for about a year in this inaugural role, supporting the health and wellbeing team as well as students directly. Her professional background is in community health and harm reduction, supporting transitional-aged youth and adults dealing with substance use challenges and chronic homelessness. Natasha has a BA in English from McMaster University and is a graduate of the Assaulted Women and Children’s Counselling and Advocacy (AWCCA) program at George Brown College.
Anna-Louise Kidd (she/they)
Student Staff, Student Integrated Health & Wellbeing, TMU Master’s of Social Work program
Anna-Louise Kidd is a recent graduate who completed both their undergraduate and master degrees in social work from TMU. During their time at the university, Anna worked as a writing and language facilitator with Learning Support, a tutor and a teaching assistant; they also volunteered with the student union at the center for safer sex. Most recently, they worked as staff for Student Integrated Health and Wellbeing’s Health Promotion department as a Health and Wellbeing Education facilitator aiding in Student Wellbeing’s on-going efforts to establish a mental health peer support program at TMU.
Liisa Kuuter (she/her)
Program Manager, Family Navigation Project, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Liisa Kuuter, MSc, RP, is the Program Manager of the Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook and Clinical Co-Lead of Mental Health and Addictions for Toronto region. A passionate leader, Liisa has demonstrated experience in system planning, development, implementation and evaluation within a broad variety of sectors, including community, education, military and clinical care settings. Liisa is responsible for the strategic and operational functions to support youth and their families navigate the complexities of mental health and addiction services across the GTA. She leverages her knowledge of local programs and services to work with system partners to transform and improve the delivery of mental health and addictions services for young people.
Simran Rattan (she/her)
Student Success Navigator — The Creative School, Navigate TMU
Simran Rattan is a Student Success Navigator in the Career, Co-op and Student Success Centre at TMU. She graduated from the Nursing program at TMU and during her studies, discovered her passion for supporting students’ transition in, through, and out of university. While she is still interested in pursuing a career in healthcare sometime in the future, currently she enjoys assisting students with navigating university based on their individual needs. As a first generation student herself, Simran didn’t have much support adapting to university life. Her undergraduate journey started with feeling overwhelmed, figuring most things out on her own, trying to make sense of the hidden curriculum and aiming to stay afloat in her studies. The transition was difficult, but the journey eventually turned out to be rewarding. During her transition into university, Simran evolved to combat various stressors and shine. By the time she completed her degree, she had participated in multiple events, initiatives and student groups across campus, and won a few awards along the way too. Her resilience helped her aim high and cross the finish line at graduation.