Making Dreams Possible: Mitchell’s Story

Education is priceless, and donors have supported the goals and dreams of thousands of Humber students. What kind of impact can a scholarship have in helping students explore and achieve those dreams? Mitchell Gosse, a recent Humber graduate, speaks from his own experience.

Mitchell Gosse

Developmental Services Worker diploma, ‘20

I just completed my final year of the Humber Developmental Services Worker (DSW) program, with future aspirations to work one-on-one with individuals, become an advocate, and potentially achieve future degrees in developmental studies and behavioural sciences. I am sincerely thankful for the scholarship support that has helped me realize my dreams.

I was born in Peterborough, Ontario in 1997 to Missie and Jerry Gosse. I was their second child, their second son and their first advocate. My older brother, Brandon, was born in 1992. Upon his birth, he exhibited a slight failure to thrive, but my parents didn’t let that stop them. Brandon was diagnosed with Cerebral Atrophy and the doctors told my parents that he would never walk, never talk and that he would never amount to anything.

Five years later, they gave him a little brother: me. One of my parents’ favourite stories about us is when I was learning how to walk, and Brandon took notice. For the first five years, he never learned how to walk, but once he saw me learning, he learned too. Now at 27 years old, Brandon walks, runs and DANCES! Fast forward through our childhood where I always looked up to and looked out for my brother; he always came first. I eventually fell in love with theatre and auditioned for theatre programs at the post-secondary level. I ended up choosing to go to Humber for Theatre Performance. For the first time in my life, I was away from my family and away from my brother. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

After my first year at school, I moved home with my parents. That summer, I was asked by a family friend to do respite work for their 8-year-old son who has a developmental delay. Even though I’d never done this work before, they saw how much he related to me and looked up to me. I fell in love with the work I was doing and when it came time to move away again at the end of the summer, that was probably the second hardest thing I had to do.

Coming back to Humber, I wasn’t sure if I was making the right choice. In addition to the financial struggles of living away from home, I was very torn. I called my mother one night and told her that I wanted to be there for that boy, and that when Brandon was growing up, his Education Assistant (EA) was such a good role model not only for him, but for me. I told my mother that I wished I could be an EA, and that’s when it clicked. I immediately jumped up and googled, “How to be an Education Assistant in Ontario.” The first thing to pop up was the Developmental Services Worker diploma at Humber College.

The following week, I submitted my application and was eventually accepted into the DSW program at Humber. I finished out the term and switched from a starring role to a supporting role.

As I write this, I get a bit emotional thinking about my journey, the financial struggles and living away from my rock, my brother. I’m proud of myself. My family, my brother and I are so incredibly thankful for this generous scholarship. The photo here was taken on the day that I moved to Toronto. In the photo, I’m lifting my brother over my head, just like my scholarship donor has lifted me up.