In 2020, the University of Waterloo assembled the President’s Anti-racism Taskforce (PART), making a public commitment to address systemic racism across its campuses. Two of PART’s recommendations called on the Student Success Office (SSO) to evaluate existing peer mentorship programs and implement a mentorship offering for incoming students identifying as Black, Indigenous, Racialized, 2SLGBTQIAA+, and/ or those from other historically underrepresented groups.
In January 2023, Tara Kleinsteuber joined the SSO to action this work. As a student equity specialist, Tara’s role was to re-imagine what community-care focused mentorship could look like. Just five short months later, the SSO welcomed the first cohort of student participants and leaders to the new Connection Collective program.
Incoming students opted-in to participate in weekly, large group workshops and discussions around equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism via a closed MS Teams channel. A team of 12 upper-year “connection leads” were available to share their own experiences, answer questions and help new students make connections to campus resources.
Tara’s vision for the Connection Collective developed not only from research, but from her own experiences with higher education. “From the start of my post-secondary journey, I was not excited or confident. I chose a local school because my parents refused to allow me to be away from home, as a residential school legacy,” she shared.
Though we know one-on-one mentorship programs can be beneficial, we also know that one mentor could not possibly attend to the intricacies that influence a person's engagement and willingness to show up. If I were paired up with a mentor to assist me with my studies, they could do a great job at that, but could they also assist me with the lack of support I had at home?
Tara found that one way to recognize and honour participants’ intersecting identities and complex needs, was to move towards a “one-to-many" mentorship model that focused on community-building and decolonial principles.
"In traditional mentorship frameworks, the mentor holds the more powerful position and is "helping" or "training" new students. I saw the opportunity to use Indigenous ways of knowing to create space for building respectful, reciprocal relationships in a group setting,” she explained.
Through its group mentorship design, the Connection Collective disrupts the hierarchical format many mentorship programs take on. It recognizes that all participants, whether they be incoming students or connection leads, have wisdom to share. This creates a more holistic and community-centred experience for all.
In addition to group discussions, the program offered students the opportunity to connect to the greater Kitchener-Waterloo community. In August, the Connection Collective welcomed the founders of O:se Kenhionhata: Tie ! (Land Back Camp) Bangishimo and Amy Smoke to a virtual conversation with students. A community leaders night called “Movers and Shakers” soon followed, featuring Kamil Ahmed of Community Justice Initiatives, poet and musician Roshan James, art curator Glodeane Brown, Teena Paul of Camino Wellbeing and Mental Health, and Stephanie Bryenton and Neb Zacharia from the reconciliation, equity, diversity and inclusion division with the Region of Waterloo.
Feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive so far. “Being a part of the Connection Collective has been incredibly rewarding in terms of connection-making, supporting undergraduate students such as myself, and staying connected with the University of Waterloo community,” shared a participant.
The program will continue into the fall, with virtual and in-person group discussions and activity-based meetups planned.
To learn more about the Connection Collective and future phases of the program, contact Tara Kleinsteuber.