In February, George Brown College (GBC) celebrates Black Futures Month. We're highlighting GBC graduates, students and employees who make meaningful changes today with an eye on the future.
As the Black Student Success Coordinator, Abisola Asha creates connections for Black students at George Brown College — connections to career services, mental health services and support, tutoring, and, most importantly, each other.
Asha is coming up to her one-year anniversary at the college, and in that time, she has expanded the reach and the scope of the Black Student Success Network, or BSSN.
"One thing I've realized is our students need a connection through building community," she said.
She set up a monthly BSSN drop-in for students to hang out, grab a bite to eat, talk to an academic advisor or BSSN student ambassadors, and learn about other services and programs at the college.
BSSN’s four pillars are academic support, information and referrals, mentorship, and social engagement.
Safe space for Black students
Asha said the drop-in events highlighted the need for increased mental health support for Black students.
"During the drop-ins, I realized that our students are stressed. There's so much going on with the pandemic, and being a Black student, in general, is very challenging. They need an outlet, somewhere to talk," she said.
Over the summer, Asha worked with Counselling and Student Well-being to develop ways to support Black students' mental health and destigmatize accessing help.
"I developed the Talking Circle. It has been an excellent way for the students to sit with a mental health professional and psychotherapist from the college to talk about their lives," Asha said.
Digital Media Marketing student and BSSN Student Ambassador Wangechi Mwaura says the monthly Talking Circle events provide an important outlet.
"It's a safe space where you can come and talk about certain things that affect us specifically as Black students," she said.
BSSN offers a range of in-person and online events and workshops, including career advising and financial literacy workshops, excursions, mentorship opportunities, academic tutoring and social mixers. Follow them on Instagram @bssn_gbc for details.
Educational, social and mentorship opportunities
Working with another student ambassador, Mwaura handles BSSN social media content and community management. She's also using skills she's developing in her program to help develop BSSN branding.
"This is a growing and learning process for me, and I'm glad I have so much support from the school," she said. "I've had some guidance in developing the BSSN brand to ensure that it's sustainable and consistent moving forward."
Mwaura is an international student who completed the first semester of her program online. She said her involvement with BSSN helped ease the transition to in-person learning at George Brown.
"It's been great to find that community of people with the same beliefs, and you can relate more with each other," she said.
Looking ahead
Asha’s goal for the future of BSSN is to secure a permanent space.
“One big thing that we constantly hear from the students is having a dedicated space,” she said. “When we have a dedicated space, it allows students to come in and drop by and be like, OK, today I don't want to be in the cafeteria. Maybe I want to be in a quiet space and do my homework. Or today, I want to chat with someone that looks like me.”
