Humber College’s first-year experience program is organizing several events this semester.
One event coming up soon is a Valentine’s Day workshop.
“We have our Valentine's Day workshop so we are going to be hosting a session on entrepreneurship, on self-healing, just self-expression,” said Sunny Singh, a third-year student and student staff at FYE. “And we are going to be bringing in a guest speaker to engage the Humber community about entrepreneurship, and how they can take their skills and monetize or actualize their skills.”
“On top of that, we have a mentorship panel with Big Brother, Big Sister Toronto.”
There are other FYE fun events coming soon, Singh said.
The Lunar New Year is to celebrate diversity, Singh said. The FYE will work with BSSE, a Black students’ organization. Among the Lunar events is a small business fair for Black entrepreneurs.
The March event will mark International Women’s Day and will celebrate women’s milestones in business and academia.
Kimerley Facey, a fourth-year student in the workplace health and wellness program and an FYE staff member mentioned there will be a self-care journaling event.
On Earth Day, there will be a sustainability event to help students understand the importance of keeping the planet healthy, said Singh.
Jayde Sobota, a third-year student in film and TV production and an FYE digital content creator, said these events can brighten up a student's day.
“It’s very inclusive. It’s just a way to brighten your day at school if you’re having a tough time with assignments. It’s a way to lighten the load and just give you a mental break from everything else going on,” Sobota said.
Singh gives more information on the mentorship program .
“What mentorship is about, the different pathways at Humber to mentor or be mentored, but also outside of Humber in your community, how you can get mentored,” Singh said.
Singh said the mentorship program is beneficial for student’s academics.
“There's studies that show when mentorship is provided people have better performance in their academics,” he said. “They have less chances of dropping out of a program because they have a peer to just contact on a personal basis.”
Sobota can relate as she shares her own experience of how being in FYE helped her through the tough times.
“It’s really helped me kind of escape when school is becoming too overwhelming and it’s really got me through some tough times,” Sobota said
Singh talked more about the fun events that encourage the mentorship program, but all students are welcomed.
“We also have a lot of fun events, but these are more to our mentorship program. Again, the space is open for all students, so you could drop by, but we promote it specifically to our mentorship program,” Singh said.
He outlined making career and vision boards and Valentine’s Day cards, holding movie nights and outdoor carnivals. The events are geared to students’ experiences throughout the semester.
During stressful times, such as exam season, Singh said FYE concentrates on stress relief and supporting students.
“The themes change, but the events are all planned around the student life cycle,” he said. “What the student is going through, what period of the semester it is, and we try to make all their events around that.”
Sobota expresses how FYE creates a safe space for all students on campus and many things to experience.
“It’s kind of just to create a safe space for everyone on campus, anyone that may be experiencing isolation at school, having trouble making friends, and wanting to find fun things to do,” Sobota said.
Sobota expresses how “it’s all about supporting one another and kind of treating each other as family.”
Students are welcome to volunteer for the FYE which, Singh says, comes with tangible perks.
“There’s Co-Curricular Record Credit. You also get a thank you gift as a token of appreciation. There’s different incentives for the hours of volunteering. You get a peer mentor certificate.” Singh said. “You get to see behind the scenes of orientation of a very large operation. You get exclusive social event invites.”
Singh said the FYE gives students other opportunities, not just events.
“It's also an opportunity for upper year students to gain leadership experience and give back to the community,” he said. “The main core things that matter to me, at least the leadership aspect of it, the skills you develop, the connections you make.”
Facey said FYE helped her develop leadership skills.
“In terms of leadership -- because for me, I was very shy before, and I'm still working on that stuff, but I think I've definitely seen a different side of me, and I think first year experience helped,” Facey said.
FYE’s student lounge is in LRC 2030, across from the International Centre, and is open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
