UTM alum and mentor sets example for Black students pursuing higher education

For University of Toronto Mississauga alumna Tobi Mohammed, mentorship opportunities sparked a commitment to help Black students pursue higher education. 

It started in her second year as a UTM undergrad biology student. “We saw a need and made it happen,” says Mohammed about her decision to contribute to the relaunch of the African Students’ Association, which had become inactive. “There’s no need to wait around for others to do something.”

Her work with the association showed Mohammed the value of peer and mentor support – and the power of taking initiative. She went on to participate in several campus clubs focused on enhancing success for UTM's Black communities and expanding access to post-secondary education. She found connecting with local high school students as a mentor and teaching assistant in the SEE@UTM program especially fulfilling:

“It was a very full circle moment for me. Hearing that many of these students wanted to go into STEM reminded me of myself in Grade 12.”

Later, Mohammed helped run Access Days on campus, hosting workshops for more than 150 Black high school students to facilitate the transition into university. She was heartened at the strong turnout, noting how important it is for students to see themselves represented in a university setting. “I didn’t have that when I was younger,” she says.

Mohammed also felt the urgency of equity work when she was selected for the 2022 Canada Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) as a researcher. Her project, led by U of T Scarborough psychology professor Cendri Hutcherson, investigated the cognitive processes that contribute to biases in shooting incidents. 

The tri-campus summer research program aims to ultimately diversify faculty by providing undergraduate students who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Colour equitable access to graduate school preparation, planning and admission. The SROP role put Mohammed in touch with industry professionals and fellow researchers, which deepened her passion to address equity and access to education at a deeper level.

After graduating from UTM with an honours bachelor of science degree, Mohammed went on to a graduate program, and says her mentorship experience with SEE@UTM shaped her decision-making process. Connecting with eager high schoolers helped her find clarity at a time when she was finishing her undergraduate degree and uncertain of her next steps.

“I was thinking [to myself] ‘why are you fearful’? If anything, SEE@UTM made me push myself harder.”

Now as a grad student, she's added a dedication to health sciences research to her commitment to expand post-secondary access. Mohammed is wrapping up a master’s program in global health at McMaster University. “It’s going to allow me to study serious issues in global health intensely and meet different professionals and classmates from diverse backgrounds. I’m very excited.”

This interview was first published as part of Black at UTM, an initiative that emerged from U of T’s Anti-Black Racism Task Force with a goal of showcasing Black excellence at UTM and making campus a welcoming environment where Black students, staff, faculty and librarians feel included, inspired, safe and celebrated.