Make the Cut – Fall 2021
Paul Menton Centre, Carleton University
TRANSCRIPT: Student Success Panel + Q&A + Event Wrap-Up

[PADDY] Welcome back … welcome back grade 12 students and your teachers. We’re. So, pleased to have you here at our virtual Make the Cut. Moving on to our last portion right now which is our Student Success Panel. These are three wonderful students uh here at Carleton University who make use of the Paul Menton Centre and they're going to explain and outline their experiences here at school. So relevant to to you you uh grade 12 students. Back again, not just another sweet voice, is Amanda Blais who's going to lead us through this uh discussion with the Success Panel. Amanda, over to you! 

[AMANDA] Thank you, Paddy! This is one of mine and I’m sure will be one of your uh favorite things to participate in today and I don't want to waste any more time introducing our fantastic group of student panelists. So, I’m going to get each of the panelists to introduce themselves with their name, their program, and their year of study. So, Meredith, why don't you get us started? 

[MEREDITH] Hi everyone … my name is Meredith Ogden. I am a Psychology major in my third year and I was diagnosed with a learning disability, specifically dyscalculia. Super happy to be here today! 

[AMANDA] Thank you so much, Meredith, and we're so happy to have you here as one of our ambassadors. uh Sarah, can you please introduce yourself? 

[SARAH A.] Hi my name is Sarah Ange. I am a second-year student in the Psychology program at Carleto— Carleton, pardon me, and I have Inattentive ADHD. 

[AMANDA] Thank you so much, Sarah! We're really excited to have you ... and just to shake things up, we also have a Sarah M. So, Sarah, can you please introduce yourself? 

[SARAH M.] Hi, I’m a third-year Bachelor Social Work student um and I have been diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder. I’m happy to be here.

[AMANDA] Hello everyone, thank you to all three of you. So, today we're going to be asking each of you a few questions. We're going to start off with Meredith. um To those of you in the audience, please be sure to send your questions in to our panelists as well throughout this time. But, Meredith, can you please answer our first question which is "What are some of the differences with accommodation processes between university and high school?" I know that Sonia talked about this, but um can you tell us a bit from your own personal perspective? What are the responsibilities that you've had throughout the accommodation process? 

[MEREDITH] Absolutely! um So, some of the differences between post-secondary and high school, which I know Sonia mentioned as well, but for me, self-advocacy is super important, and I know Sonia defined this as well. So, to me that looks like, you know um, checking in with your professors, letting them know that you have um accommodations. um This is super important … just to notify them that you may be needing uh accommodations or extra help. um Additionally, you know, talking with your coordinator about what works for you. The difference between, I think, the main difference between post-secondary and high school is that you are in charge of your success and so, this means that your parents are no longer there to do anything for you. You have to really learn that independence and, you know, that takes time and and growth and, you know, it may take a couple of shots to get the hang of it - I know it did for me. So, I think that's kind of the main difference … is just advocating for yourself and kind of learning that independence at the same time.

[AMANDA] Thank you so much, uh Meredith! And as Sonia had said to you, your parents are still really important to help coach you along the way, right?  

[MEREDITH] Absolutely! 

[AMANDA] Awesome. So, the next question, we're going to turn over to Sarah A. um So, were there any major surprises for you during the first few weeks of classes?

[SARAH A.] For sure. So, the two main surprises for me was how much energy and effort it takes to preparing yourself for university and then the importance of taking notes in your classes. So, when it comes to preparing for university, in high school, you might have your teachers remind you of due dates. um In university, you're gonna have a syllabus, like a piece of paper telling you when things are due and um when you need to hand them in. So, if you're lucky, a professor might send out a reminder email or remind you in class, but you can't always depend on that. And so, it is the student's responsibility to effectively manage and monitor when the due dates are. And then the— with the importance of note taking … in high school, you might have found that a system works best for you and it's carried you along your high school career and you might be a strong no— note taker, but you want to find a better system that works better for you. There are lots of opportunities to learn skills through PMC as well as other student services at Carleton, but uh at the end of the day, with each class, you might be learning or looking for new ways to take notes in the classes because not every style is going to match with the way that you're used to taking notes. So, that was a big surprise for me too ... was being flexible with how I’m note-taking. 

[AMANDA] thank you so much, Sarah. So, kind of um you know, being prepared for the idea of trying new things um in university, depending on the— or college, depending on the courses that you're taking. um One of the students uh before has also said that there's no bells to tell you that class is over. um I’m sure that was a big change for many of you um doing homeschooling over the last year or two, right? You didn't have those external prompts letting you know that, “oh I need to, I need to go to my next class” or “I need to go to class”. So, uh you have to build in those external reminders for yourself as well. um Meredith, I’m going to turn this one back over to you … um so, "What PMC accommodations and supports were most important in addressing your disability needs during your first few time— terms at Carleton?" I know you had disclosed at the beginning, um you know, what the nature of your disability was. So, maybe you can speak to the accommodations that you use most and have they stayed the same for you throughout your years? 

[MEREDITH] Yeah, so, this is a great question. um So, for me personally, some of the accommodations that I found to be really beneficial include extra time on exams or quizzes. Note-taking services I have found to be really helpful. um Writing on a laptop for essay-based exam questions. So, these are just some of the tools that I find to be really helpful and they have stayed the same throughout my progression in university. But, you know, since covid has happened, a lot of the— really, my only accommodation now is just extra time given, so that, you know, essay-based questions can be done um already … there's no— there was no in-person exam. So, yes they have stayed the same.

[AMANDA] Thank you so much, Meredith … and Sandra— sorry, Sarah A., um same question to you … did you find that your accommodations and supports were the same and what kinds of supports did you use to address your disability— disability-related needs? 

[SARAH A.] Right. So, as Meredith said, um you know, additional time for tests … that's something that I still use to this day and I also am receiving notes from volunteer note-takers. So, students within the class who are willing to share their notes and that's been very helpful for me because I can, you know, take the notes that I need to and compare it to something and know if I’m on the right track or if it's just going right over my head. So, to this day, my accommodations have remained, remain the same and it's created a strong foundation for me that supports, you know, academic success. And I know that the accommodations are there, whether or not I need them, you know, I— for some things, I might not utilize the accommodations I’ve been offered, but I know they're there in case I need it. 

[AMANDA] Awesome … thank you so much. So, the two of you have had similar accommodations along the way um and for some of you, you might find that um you might need to change your accommodations, but like Sonia said, every term you need to request your accommodations based on the courses that you're taking. So, you might need something in one course and might not need something in another course. So, um be sure to have those conversations with your coordinator or your advisor. I’m going to turn this next one over to Sarah M. So, Sarah, what student services on campus have you used and found to be helpful? 

[SARAH M.] Well, throughout my post-secondary experience, I’ve had the chance to use a lot of services at Carleton. First was “First Year Connections” … uh During my first year, I had the opportunity to be a part of this program. um It basically just like pairs you up with an upper-year student to help you transition into post-secondary school. Many schools have the same programs, kind of similar with the goal of just making your transition as smooth as possible. um One of the PMC services that I think is vital to my education is my Learning Strategies appointments. um As we went over throughout the presentation, they help with several academic skills and help you build on the ones that you may need extra support in. And lastly is the writing services offered on campus. I have— They have helped immensely in my academic writing and planning, and the services offered by the school can help you with a variety of things to really ensure that you understand the writing process and help you develop the skills that work for you. Many of these services are offered at other campuses, um but I think those are the best ones that I’ve utilized at Carleton. 

[AMANDA] And Sarah, did you self-refer to those resources? 

[SARAH M.] um I was referred for “First Year Connections” when I applied to Carleton and then self-referred for the other ones. 

[AMANDA] Very cool. Awesome … thank you so much for sharing that with us … and uh we'll take this opportunity to ask you the next question too which is … um “What do you think success looks like for you as a student and what helped you get there?” That's back to Sarah M.

[SARAH M.] I really like this question because it can go a lot of different ways, but I think success looks like ensuring that I’m like well balanced between my my classes, my extracurriculars, and my free time. As a student, I really like to build connection and I believe that success is not all about the grades that you earn, but what you make of your university experience. um So, I make the time to have some fun, to relax, as student academic responsibilities can take a big toll on your mental health and social life. um In order to make sure I’m a successful student, I make self-care number one priority. Understanding that most students can't be superhumans and cannot work 24 hours a day is something that many students have to learn. But it's led me to more day-to-day activities and helped me not only stay more focused, but let my brain and body have the rest that it needs. uh What helped me get here was a lot of trial and error. It was also the realization that students don't move at the same pace and don't travel the same route. This includes understanding your your situation may be different than other students and ultimately doing what's best for you and your future.

[AMANDA] So that balance piece is super important and I’m really happy you brought that up because I think a lot of people sometimes will struggle with that, especially in the beginning. So, if any of you have any tips … I know, Sarah, you said that you use your mentor connections, you use learning strategies, and you use writing tutorial services. Sarah A. or Meredith, did either of you, if you want to jump in, have any other resources that you found to help you be successful um throughout your journey? 

[MEREDITH] So, I have used some of the counseling services on campus and I have found those to be um really helpful. I’m also a part of the Student Mental Health Committee and so, um we kind of talk about what implementations might be helpful to students. Additionally, I have also used the Act to Employ service which is a program for employment opportunities for students with disabilities and I found that it allows me to balance my my studies with employment and making some money which is really fantastic, especially as a student who has to work really hard at her studies. So, yeah … those are kind of some of the other resources that I have found to be really helpful. I don't know if um Sarah has any other others to add. 

[SARAH A.] I was just gonna say that for myself, um my route to university was a little untraditional because I did the ESP program, but through utilizing their services as well as PMC, it's really helped me network and build up skills that I wasn't even sure that I needed to develop. But it's definitely been a big, big thing for me and it's opened a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't have been aware of otherwise. So, that's something. 

[AMANDA] Thank you, Sarah … and uh ESP stands for “Enriched Support Program”, right? 

[SARAH A.] Correct. 

[AMANDA] Yes, okay, and it's a transition program for um like, students who um let's say need additional support going into university. Correct?

[SARAH A.]  Absolutely. 

[AMANDA] Okay, alright, cool … um So, just to follow up to that last question before we, um before we get to, like, um you know, the the questions from our audience members, but um it sounds like a lot of you have done a lot of things throughout your your academic career. But we haven't really heard a little bit— a lot about um reduced course loads … do any of you take reduced course loads in order to be able to, like, find that balance or be able to have a job or access different things? Is that something that any of you do yourselves? 

[MEREDITH] Yes, so, I have a reduced course load. So, in post-secondary, the um kind of typical, now using quotations, um course load is typically five courses. um And so, for myself I’ve done a range of different things, depending on where I’m at mental health-wise. So, in my first year, my first semester, I did five courses and then I realized that's way too much, um and so, from then on, I’ve been taking four courses. um But in my second year, in the first semester, I took three courses because I found it to be just a hard time with the pandemic and, you know, I’m sure everyone kind of struggled a little bit mental health-wise. So, um, yeah … I’ve taken kind of a range of courses. So, it really just depends on where you're at in life, and it's it's not a sprint … it's more of a marathon. So, take your time and um just listen to your body, I think, I would say. 

[AMANDA] And um Meredith, did you talk to anybody to make that decision on taking a reduced course load? 

[MEREDITH] Yes, so, I… I did speak to actually my psychologist um and she also recommended that. But um I talked to my coordinator as well, Sonia, um and she recommended that that would be beneficial for for me as well. So, there's lots of support out there … you just have to um … you just have to get out there and ask your questions.
 
[AMANDA] Amazing … and then um …. thank you so much for sharing that. I know … I know that's always a very tough decision for a lot of students to make um because, you know, a lot of people want to graduate with their friends um or, you know, you you get into university in your second or third year you're kind of, like, you know, “I just, I just want to stay up to date”. But I think maybe what you're pointing out, Meredith, is you got to make the decision that's best for you, and sometimes stepping— taking less courses gives you more opportunities for other things it sounds like a little bit. 

[MEREDITH] Yes, absolutely! 

[AMANDA] um Sarah or Sarah, did you have anything else to add there? I didn't give you a chance to talk about that either. 

[SARAH A.]  No, I think Meredith did an excellent job. 

[AMANDA] Okay, awesome. So, we're going to open it up to the audience questions, and the first question we have coming in here says that um “In high school, I was always embarrassed being a ‘Resource Student’ and asking for help. So, I tried not to. How do I get over the fear and embarrassment of being an ‘Accommodation Student’ in post-secondary education?” Who would like to take a swing at this question? 

[SARAH A.]  I can. 

[AMANDA] Awesome … thank you, Sarah. 

[SARAH A.]  For myself, like, I still get a bit of anxiety whenever an email comes out to the whole class and it's, like, somebody needs notes, um and I feel as though other students can just pinpoint it about me. But they don't know. Nobody knows that you receive extra supports, especially with things being online and getting extra time, it's very discreet. Everything is very, very discreet … and um … yeah. 

[AMANDA] So, what you're saying is no one knows that you're registered with PMC? 

[SARAH A.]  Correct … unless I disclose it to others, um it's not out in the open. uh The professor knows, maybe the TAs … I’m not too sure … but for the most part, it's just between me and the professor and PMC. 

[AMANDA] And they don't know your diagnosis, right? They just know you're registered with the PMC. 

[SARAH A.]  Correct, yeah. 

[AMANDA] Okay, and that's only if you requested accommodations in the course, right? Okay, very cool … um Sarah or Meredith, do you have any follow-up to that question at all? 

[MEREDITH] I do actually. um So, I completely agree with Sarah, and um whoever asked this question,I totally can empathize with that. I remember in high school being very ashamed of having a learning disability um and being a “Resource Student”. So, I totally understand that. um I think one thing I’ll say is, which kind of aligns with what Sarah was saying, is that post-secondary is so big that there really isn't any, like, “popular people” or um “not popular people” and I think maybe that's a reason for a lot of the embarrassment … is, like, you're worried about people um pointing fingers or laughing and … kind of, to what Sarah was saying, is that the university is so big that, first of all, no one really cares if you have um a disability or not. I mean, like they do, but they're not … they're kind of worried about their— themselves. So, um while I can, you know, empathize with that, I also have learned that people are really just concerned with um their own studies, and so, worrying about that is probably not the most productive thing, although I understand it. um So, yeah, like, high school is … it's just a different environment and the people are so different. They're so down to earth at least I have find— or found … um So, yeah, just … you know, I get it, but at the same time, try to maybe change your mindset a little bit … um yeah … maybe that, maybe that's helpful, I don't know (laughing) 

[AMANDA] (laughing) And, and again, maybe um like what Sarah M. was talking about, with regards to connecting with mentors um can help alleviate some of the embarrassment. I know that we get a lot of students who find out about PMC from their peers. um So, a lot of people will meet uh other students in residence or their housemates or their classmates um who are registered with the PMC, and it's because they talk to each other about the support that they're accessing that they realize, like “Oh wait, I should be doing that too!”. So, it actually becomes something that, you know, people … professors, will encourage um students to do is register with the PMC. um So, I think there is, like Sarah was saying, a lot of the the stigma is um is removed in terms of accessing because no one really knows that you have a disability, because again, even if you access accommodations, like you're not going to get into Carleton because you're a student with a disability, you're going to get into Carleton because … or anywhere else … because you met the registration requirements for that institution. And same thing when you graduate, it's not going to show up on your, on your audit or your degree that you had accommodations in high school or—sorry, in university um or college. So, that's something to keep in mind as well. um The next question being asked, and feel free to raise your hands so our production team can see which one of you want to answer, but um was uh “What was the one thing that you were most afraid of uh going into post-secondary?"

[SARAH M.] um I think the one thing that I was probably most afraid of was making friends. And since coming to Carleton, I’ve really realized if you, kind of, get into the community and join different clubs and talk to your peers in your classes … it's a really different experience in high school, it's … Making friends can be viewed as a lot harder, but it actually isn't. You're gonna find so many people that are just like you and have the same interest because there's so many other people that you can talk to … um like at Carleton, it's a huge campus, so um it may take some time to find the friends that you would like to hang out with all the time, but I will assure you that you will find uh probably the best friends when you go to school. 

[MEREDITH] uh Similarly to Sarah, I also was really afraid of making friends. um But a different answer, I think, would be professors ... I was very intimidated about what professors would think of me, how I would approach them, and, kind of, that whole culture I was really nervous for. um And I think some tips that I found to be helpful was to um … you know, I guess in Covid times, emailing is a great resource … just, you know, emailing your professor, letting them know who you are, introducing yourself … um As well as, you know, if you're in-person, to just introduce yourself, I find that before or after class to be a really kind of casual time … instead of like an office hour, which can be a little bit more intimidating, although I’ve done plenty of office hours and they are nothing to be afraid of. um So, yeah, I think professors are another area that I was kind of afraid of.

[AMANDA] And and I find that, for those of you who are coming to Carleton, if you um attend our Intro event that we always host, that Sonia mentioned, in August, we actually have a professor who talks about what to expect in a classroom and I find that Professor Motz has done a really good job maybe dispelling some of that uh anxiety that we have about approaching professors. I’m not going to say that, you know, just like in life, not everyone's going to be “warm and fuzzy”, um but that being said, uh your professors are your "content matter experts," right? So, they're going to be the ones who can help you navigate that material and provide you with some additional resources. Thank you so much, Meredith and Sarah. So, uh we'll move on to the next question which is “What kind of support is available for online programs? Is there someone available for for me?” Not me (pointing to herself), but the person who, I guess, is working remotely. So, are any of you … have any of you been studying, like, predominantly remotely, or any of you back onto campus? Is there services you've been accessing from home? I see Sarah A. nodding her head, so, maybe we'll go to her to answer this question first. 

[SARAH A.] Right. So, I started at Carleton online. So, it's all I’ve ever known um from that kind of angle. I have utilized a lot of different um services through Carleton, like PMC … there's CSAS … there's the um, you know, with the ESP program, they have advisors on there. So, everything I’ve done is online. And one thing I noticed was that even if I didn't know who I needed to reach out to if I needed help with something, if I just brought up my concern, I would always be directed in the correct direction. So, I’d always find who I needed to connect with to get the answer I needed.

[AMANDA] Awesome. Thank you so much. So, it's important, again, you kind of have that person that you connect with, and then they kind of connect you with other people, right? um Very cool. Sarah, Meredith, do you have anything else to add to that one? Any online services you've been accessing that were different from Sarah's … Sarah A's? 

[MEREDITH] um Maybe I’ll just say, um if the student is wondering about um like extra time accommodations and how that works online … um So, oftentimes what will happen is your professor will up— will already add the extra time to your quiz or exam. So, you actually don't need to— you have to request the accommodation, but the actual um additional time is added by the professor. So, uh you just, you know, click the link and start the exam and the extra time is in the little blurb above, and you can just … there's like a clock … it's a little bit intimidating because it, like, counts down, but um … you'll, you'll figure it out. And uh yeah … So, that's just kind of another tool, I guess, if students were wondering about how extra time works online. 

[AMANDA] Maybe one of those— thinking as a learning strategist, maybe one of the strategies, if you're intimidated by the clock, is to put a post-it note over it and then maybe set the alarm … 

[MEREDITH] Yes!

[AMANDA] … on your phone or something like that, right? (laughing) It's weird how my brain always goes to that. Awesome … thank you so much! um The next question is uh “How different are your feelings now compared to how you were feeling before starting post-secondary studies?” So, that's gonna be very similar to the question we're gonna ask uh with our wrap-up. So, maybe we will, um we will keep that one for the end, um and I’ll move on to one for Sarah A. um So, someone is asking “How ESP um helps you?” … and um this person is starting with ESP in January actually, and wanted to hear um some of your experiences about the Enriched Support Program. 

[SARAH A.] Right. So, with the ESP program, I can't say enough good things about it. I met a lot of people um online because we weren't able to be in campus. But with the workshops, it did help me develop some skills where I was really lacking — the skills needed to succeed. And I know of people personally who have taken the ESP program and maybe the one semester wasn't enough for them, so they went back for a second year and that is totally okay. um You should never rush things just to get it done faster. So, the the staff within the department are excellent. For myself, I … I told myself going into it that I was going to challenge myself … so, whether that meant, you know, being on camera all the time, because there's a lot of people who don't feel comfortable doing that at all. Taking those those risks and being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that's really helped me network with a lot of the department. um I was referred for a job uh working alongside a, kind of, partner department within the Centre of Initiatives, and it's just been very rewarding. Just being in the ESP program has exposed me to a lot of new opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise, whether it's how I learned, or the people I know. 

[AMANDA] Thank you so much, Sarah … and for those of you out there, ESP is a bridging program. So, for those students in high school who maybe aren't able to get into a degree program, or maybe they've been out of school and need to bridge themselves back in, or maybe they're just not ready to commit to a degree program … whatever it is, you can check out to see if ESP is the right fit for you, and again, that is a program offered here at Carleton. um Thank you, Sarah, for going into that very pointed question at you, and to the person starting in January, welcome! um And one thing I should mention to you, so we do have three awesome Student Success Panelists, but, as Bruce mentioned at the very beginning, we do have well over 3500 students registered with PMC. So, we make up about 11% of the overall population. Our students make up about 11% of the overall population of students here at Carleton, and those are just students that identify themselves as having a disability and registering with us. So, there very well could be several students out there who have a disability, but, you know, don't need to register with us to access accommodations. But um today we're we're talking about those students who, who are coming to us and and are using our services. So, any tips out there for um juggling jobs and school, for any of you who are doing that?

[MEREDITH] I think a tip that I would recommend to students who are balancing both employment and academics would be to um advise your— depending on where you work, advise your manager about, you know, your schooling and what— be really firm with your boundaries. I think boundaries are super important. You know, you want to be flexible with them, but at the same time, you want to um … be firm with them. So, something for me that's been really helpful again is the reduced course load. It just allows me to balance my academics and job in a healthy way. Some of my friends have a crazy amount of schoolwork and then on top of that have jobs and they are com— like completely burnt out. And so, I just I wouldn't want that for any of you. So, um boundaries and, you know, communicating, this is super important, to managers, and then, additionally, the reduced course load … I think those are kind of my three main um tips that I’ve learned. 

[AMANDA] We're gonna go on to our next question unless Sarah and Sarah are dying to jump in on that one … no? Okay uh so, um and one of the things I will say when, when Sarah A. was talking about um her discomfort on the screen, it is pretty awesome to have her talking to all of us, and we're happy to have you, as well as your other panelists here with us today. um So, this question is a really awesome one to you. um So, "How might a high school resource teacher better prepare students for self-advocacy skills they will need on campus?" So, for those of you who had an IEP in high school, or used accommodations in high school and worked with a resource teacher … um how could, how could your resource teacher either have helped you better prepare or how did they help you better prepare for high school— or for university and college? 

[MEREDITH] So, um I did have an IEP in high school and um I think one area that I wish my guidance or my um resource teacher helped me with is actually just communicating with me more. I found that there was kind of long periods where there was kind of no communication between me and my resource teacher and I found that to be very stressful. um I think that part of self-advocacy is just having that support, um kind of having that safe place in a way to kind of ask questions um and and learn from, learn from your, your resource teacher. So, I think just having that constant communication and checking in with students is super important. I wish that uh in high school, I had a little bit more communication with my resource teacher. And I— and then I think from there, you know, the student will hopefully learn to recognize the importance of, of communicating and hopefully recognize the advantages that that brings to um to their success in school. So, yeah … I think that's what I would say to that. I’m not sure if anyone wants to add on to that. 

[SARAH A.] I was going to say that with my experience, I didn't, I didn't have the privilege of having um accommodations in high school. So, my journey was that I had to bust my butt to finish high school, or else I would have never done it. And it wasn't until I decided that I wanted to take a certificate at a college that I was like, “Listen, I struggled … um what are my options?” So, just being accountable to myself saying, “This is something that I really want … how do I go about doing it?” You know, if you're lucky, you have the supports when you're in high school. If you don't, you really have to take it upon yourself to go out and get it. But once you're willing to put in the work to connect with the right people to get it, it gets so much easier after that.
 
[AMANDA] Sarah, just a follow-up question … do you think if you had a resource teacher in high school, you would have been able to maybe learn a bit more about your options for college and university, like being able to weigh out all your options instead of just ‘pidgeon-hole’ yourself into one or the other? 

[SARAH A.] If I had more support in high school, I wouldn't have … on one hand, I wouldn't have completed two certificates and a diploma, and I would have had a better idea of what I wanted um out of school. But I think that for me, I’m lucky in the sense that the struggle helped me um drive my, my passion for wanting more. um Being left behind definitely fueled my passion for um wanting better for myself.

[AMANDA] Awesome. So, so again, a resource teacher could have um, had you been connected with the services, maybe helped you explore some more options for yourself and— … although, although those learning opportunities are important too! (laughing)

[SARAH A.] Absolutely! 

[AMANDA] Awesome. Okay. So, we're coming close to the end and I want to go back to that question that was asked earlier and I’m going to ask it to all three of you. um But it's the question that I love the most which is um “If you knew then what you know now, what is the most important advice you would like to pass on to a new student? um And again, let's start off with Sarah M. 

[SARAH M.] I really like this question too and I would say one piece of advice that I would pass along to incoming students is don't be afraid to ask for help. Post-secondary school is all about trial and error and getting the proper help along the way to help you succeed. So, don't be afraid to reach out to your profs, to your TAs, and to your student services because they're all there to support you. 

[AMANDA] Thank you, Sarah, and that kind of goes with— was that something you were afraid of coming in was asking for help? 

[SARAH M.] Oh, yes, for sure! 

[AMANDA] Yeah (laughing) Okay, alright … thank you for sharing that. um We'll go over to Sarah A. um … same question. 

[SARAH A.] So, I was going to say that it's okay to— um it's not, it's not a good feeling to fail, but if you can acknowledge that you are on the path where it doesn't look like 'sunshine and rainbows,' you know, taking the initiative to to stop in your tracks and get the help that you need is very very important. um So, I think if I knew then what I know now, it's like acknowledge that something is not right, but definitely take the steps to rectify it.

[AMANDA] Thank you again … that advocacy piece is coming through again … being aware of what we need and then asking for help. That's two of you saying that! uh Meredith, are you gonna round us out with our, our final question to you … same question … uh what would you like those to know now what you wish you would have known? 

[MEREDITH] Oh gosh, Amanda, there is so much that I wish I could tell myself. um I think one of the main things is that most of the learning that you will experience in post-secondary is done actually outside of the classroom. um I have found that, sure, you know, I’ve learned things in my courses that have been really beneficial, but a lot of the skills that I learned were actually done outside the classroom.  And I’m not saying that you should weigh that more than your grades, so to speak, but I think that in a way, it kind of is what will set you up for success, um not only in post-secondary, but life generally. um And kind of that perseverance, that um in psychology we call it, like, the "grit" that someone may have, I think is the best thing that you can do for yourself. um And I think also acknowledging that perseverance looks different each day. So, you know, it's important to rest, and eat healthy, and exercise, and get all of those kind of basic necessities … basic, but hard, I will say. They are hard. um I think those are super important. So, yeah, most of the learning is done outside the classroom … that's my little piece of advice for students today. 

[AMANDA] Amazing! So, remember yourself, your "whole person," not just your "academic person" when coming to university. um Well, thank you again so, so much to all three of our awesome Student Success Panelists! I hope you all out in the virtual world have enjoyed listening to them as much as I have. um Again, we can't uh stress enough how important it is to have our panelists here to speak their voices about their experience because you know that firsthand experience is so valuable. And I hope that when you all um go to the institutions you go to that you seek support from an upper-year student because you can meet one of these wonderful people um, or someone like these wonderful people, at your institutions to help guide you through that as well. So, thank you again to the three panelists and to all of you out there. I’m going to turn it back over to Paddy. 

[PADDY] Thank you, Amanda, and uh thank you very much to our Panelists Sarah and Meredith and Sarah. It's just spectacular, spectacular! A wonderful positive message for our high school students and seeing how successful you are, and donating your time! We thank you so much! We'd like to get some feedback from the students. Please take a moment after the event to answer three short questions using Survey Monkey. Your responses will remain anonymous and the link to the survey will be posted in the chat, or you can return later to the live event page where you logged in … the survey is posted there. Educators, do note that Linda Stewart will be in touch with you by email for your feedback. So, we're so pleased you grade 12s could be with us today, and your teachers and educators. We've had a fantastic program that, that folks have put out for you with so much information that is available for you on recordings. And um we're so glad that hopefully that this has given you some ease for your stresses and your worries that you expressed at the beginning, and helped you better plan your transition onto post-secondary. Also a big big hand then on— a big thanks to all the PMC team for all of their work. So, thank you everyone and all the best you students as you move forward. That's it for today … bye!