Queen’s Athletics and Recreation and the Varsity Leadership Council (VLC), held their second annual Pathways to Education mentorship day on Saturday, March 23, bringing together Pathways to Education students and Queen’s student-athletes for an afternoon of listening to speakers and participating in games, activities and discussions on resilience, goal setting, and mental health awareness.

Guest speakers included past and current Queen’s student-athletes, including former CFL linebacker Andrew Lue, Olympian Megan Lukan, Queen’s men’s volleyball assistant coach and former varsity athlete Tom Ellison, Queen’s men’s hockey forward Jaden Lindo, and a video from Canadian speedskater Lauren McGuire.

“This was my first time participating in the Pathways to Education mentorship day, and it was a very special and meaningful experience,” says Harry Range (Com’20), student-athlete and co-president of VLC. “It was amazing to see how engaged and outgoing these kids are, and we all had such a fun time playing games and listening to the various speakers.”

Pathways to Education is a community-based program, run through Kingston Community Health Centres, designed to improve high school completion rates in the Rideau Heights and Inner Harbour neighborhoods of Kingston. Since 2010, Pathways to Education has been providing the resources and network of support to help students graduate from high school and build the foundation for a successful future.

The partnership between Queen’s Athletics and Recreation and Pathways started in 2017, as a way to give students insight into the recreational opportunities on campus. It builds on the university’s longstanding outreach and recruitment-focused work with the local Pathways to Education program, and Pathways programs in the Greater Toronto Area. Queen’s staff visit Pathways to talk about post-secondary education, generally, host prospective applicants at on-campus events, and assist applicants during the admissions process. Queen’s recently implemented a First-Generation Admission Pathway, and has expanded available bursaries, to help further promote access among first generation students.

“Close to half of our students are first-generation learners, meaning they will be the first in their family to receive a post-secondary education,” says Roger Romero, Coordinator at Kingston Pathways to Education. “The mentorship day helps Pathways students see themselves as post-secondary students, and show them that through hard work and determination, they can accomplish their goals.”

This event was made possible by generous donations from McCoy Bus, Pita Pit, and Freedom 55.

To learn more, visit the Pathways to Education website.