Toronto Metropolitan University Alumni Blog – Advice for alumni, by alumni

Five ways to enrich your mental health

Amma Gyamfowa, Social Work (Masters) ’18, aims to empower individuals, families and communities with holistic mental health supports. In this blog, she shares 5 steps you can take to improve your mental health.

The Canadian Mental Health Association hosts Mental Health Week annually during the first week of May. As a therapist, I have witnessed an undeniable transformation occur when people actively pour into their wellness. Here are five key ways you can enrich your mental health.

Why kindness is the must-have superpower you need to lead

As the old saying goes, a little kindness can go a long way. In this blog, Julie Adam, Radio and Television Arts ’92, shares four ways you can use kindness to help you in leadership.

Practicing kindness in leadership will force you to shift focus away from yourself to the things which matter most — your customers, your employees, your shareholders and your community. If you want to transform from good to great and excel in leadership, you need a north star and a superpower to guide you. Make it kindness.

Advancing disability rights in Canada: 3 takeaways from the latest Generous Futures discussion

Haweya Fadal is an Alumni Relations Officer at Ryerson University, specializing in content creation.

Did you know 22% or 1 in 5 Canadians have a disability? According to a 2017 Statistics Canada report, 6.2 million people identified as having one or more disabilities. So, how can we create a more inclusive and accessible Canada? What are some socially-made barriers that exclude and harm people with disabilities? How do decisions around funding centre or exclude the voices and experiences of those most affected? These are some of the questions our expert panellists addressed in Generous Futures: Advancing Disability Rights.

Anti-Asian racism is on the rise. Here are 3 ways to fight it

This past year, we’ve seen a spike in anti-Asian racism in Canada—but 1-in-4 Asian-Canadians say they experience discrimination all the time. So, how can we stop this?

Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been a staggering rise in the number of instances of anti-Asian discrimination across Canada and the world. However, the unfortunate reality is this is not a new phenomenon.

3 steps to living intentionally

Adrienne Enns, Radio and Television Arts ’96, is the Founder and CEO of *May You Know Joy Inc.* *Her mission is to inspire our most intentional living through products, conversations and experiences. Enns is the author of* *Intentional Days* *and host of* *The Intention Sessions podcast*.

A new year is a great time to re-align and set your intentions—think of it as being on your side and putting your energy into what matters. Intentional living means we mindfully decide how to show up in the world and what kind of life we want to create. Unfortunately, while it sounds simple, life can get busy, and we can find ourselves putting our sense of purpose, core values and biggest dreams on hold.

4 ways to combat Islamophobia

When taking an evening stroll becomes a life threatening activity—we have a serious problem. This is the reality for many Canadians caused by Islamophobia. So, how can charitable help put an end to this?

How can philanthropy be used to combat Islamophobia? What can we, as a society, do to eradicate this issue? This is what our panel of leaders discuss in the latest installment of the Generous Futures series.

Ageism is discrimination too: 3 important takeaways from Generous Futures — Addressing Ageism

Season 2 of Generous Futures kicked off with a powerful discussion about ageism in Canada.

What is the role of Black leadership in charitable giving? What does giving look like from an Indigenous lens? What role does philanthropy play in addressing 2SLGBTQ+ justice and equity?

3 ways to create transformative change

Dr. Pamela Sugiman, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Ryerson University — This month, guest blogger Dr. Pamela Sugiman, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Ryerson University, shares some insight on how we can all create transformative change in our lives. Dr. Sugiman’s commitment to social justice, equity and inclusion is rooted in her personal history and has profoundly shaped her scholarly pursuits. As Dean of Arts, she has promoted the development of Indigenous education, democratic engagement, migration and immigration and student engagement and student-worker experience. Dean Sugiman is currently a member of the Board of Directors of The Atkinson Foundation and Pathways to Education Canada. She has also served as President of the Canadian Sociological Association.

Three key insights for cultivating creativity

Background texture credit Scott Webb. — David Gauntlett is Canada Research Chair at The Creative School, where he directs the Creativity Everything lab. He has worked with organizations such as the BBC, Tate, and LEGO. He is the author of 10 books, including Making is Connecting (second edition, 2018) and Creativity: Seven Keys to Unlock Your Creative Self (2022).

Hello! I’m David Gauntlett. Three years ago, the University persuaded me to move from the UK to take up a Canada Research Chair in Creativity in what was then called the Faculty of Communication and Design. By now, it’s so full of creativity that we call it The Creative School.

6 tips for success in a solo business

Sue Allen Clayton, Business ’82, is the founder of the Solopreneur Academy and author of Solopreneur Success: How to Plan, Create and Run a One-Person Business. Sue lives on Long Island, NY with her husband, self-employed daughter, two rescue dogs, and an embarrassingly large collection of books and quilt fabric.

When I received my business degree from Ryerson in 1982, I had no desire to start my own business. I chose a secure future in corporate Canada and became a human cog in Toronto’s real estate industry. My life changed drastically in the 1990s when my husband was transferred to the United States. Once I could legally work, I was very pregnant and excited to start a solo business as a freelance writer.