Thoywell Hemmings helps students redefine success in co-op education
Thoywell Hemmings, senior manager of Career Integrated Learning at the Career & Co-op Centre, turned life experience into career lessons for himself and his team.
It’s amazing how the lessons of our childhood follow us into adulthood.
For Thoywell Hemmings, senior manager of Career Integrated Learning at the Career & Co-op Centre (RCCC), that lesson comes in the form of discipline, instilled in him by his mother who encouraged him to read for an hour each morning when he woke up.
“My mother taught me a lot of the habits that I exhibit now. When I was younger, I had a hard time reading and so my mother would wake me up at six o'clock in the morning every day, and I'd have to read the Bible and the newspaper for an hour every day,” Hemmings shared. “The discipline of having to get up and do something like this all the time, makes it very easy for me when it comes to the work that I do with my staff, being accountable to them. As a leader within the Career & Co-op team, my goal is what can I do to remove obstacles for my team members to be able to better serve students.”
Hemmings joined the RCCC in November 2018 after spending more than five years building a co-op education program at a high school in Oakville, Ont. Hemmings originally wanted to be an English professor but the prospect of achieving tenure was explained as a challenging route and since he was a manager at McDonald’s at the time, he took it as an invitation to teach in a business setting. That propelled him to pursue a certificate and master’s in human resources, which set him on a course of corporate gigs in recruitment. The move to education for the high school co-op program was fortuitous.
“That was very successful and I enjoyed it because it kind of married the two career paths that I had - one in education and then one in the recruitment and training space,” Hemmings said.
Mentoring the future
In the 2020 (PDF file) Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review Report, published by the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, the university learned about the real-life experiences of Black students, faculty and staff on campus. One of the six student recommendations in the report includes: A concerted and deliberate effort to diversify disciplines and programs should be undertaken. This would include curriculum, internships, placements and other program practices that impact student success.
In co-op placements, the opportunity for a Black professional to mentor a Black-identified student would help ensure their success. Hemmings says depending on the industry, representation can be minimal at an organization, which lends less room to mentorship opportunities.
“What a mentor does is shorten your journey towards your success,” he said. “Without a mentor, you can still be successful. But there's going to be more of the trial and error method versus having someone who understands you, understands your background, has gone through or seen some of the pitfalls and can direct you towards your best route.”
He adds, “Representation is so important. Lots of times, the only things that we see as being successful is stereotypically a basketball player or a football player. And I think the more representation there is, it'll give more possibilities for individuals looking to get out but might not have the skills as a professional athlete or might not be a skilled lyricist. I think the more representation of different ways of being successful are important.”
In response to the aforementioned student recommendation in the Anti-Black Racism Campus Climate Review Report, the Career & Co-op Centre and Tri-Mentoring Program partnered to create Race Forward in the summer of 2021, a career development and mentoring program for Black-identified students. In the new year, they will be recruiting for their next summer cohort, aiming to pair 40 mentees with 40 mentors in various sectors.
Coming full circle
In addition to Hemmings’ role as a career educator, he’s also a licensed minister. Faith is integral to Hemmings’ identity and while becoming a professor wasn’t in the cards for him, he managed to create a parallel between his faith and career path.
“When I’m ministering, my intent is to teach individuals how to live the most successful life possible, through biblical principles. And as an educator, I like to think that I'm helping students understand what are the best ways that they could have career success. How can I help foster that, how can I help grow that and how can I help them to understand the pieces they need to be successful within their careers.”
This is one in a series of stories spotlighting Black-identified professionals in Student Affairs.
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