Award Recipients

YouthINK participants engaged in a variety of activities that provided exposure to Humber Polytechnic programs and resources to encourage them to pursue post-secondary pathways and to explore educational opportunities here at Humber. These included a tour from the Humber Student Ambassadors, a panel featuring students enrolled in a variety of writing programs from across the institution, and a talk about connecting with the land Humber is on and a tour of the arboretum.

The YouthINK initiative served to enrich the Etobicoke region by providing its youth community-Humber's youth community with a creative outlet. Professors Fantetti, Milech and Feldbloom were intentional about serving the broader community. They opened the institution's doors to the Etobicoke community, in order to foster a connection between the talent of local teens, the expertise of industry professionals and passionate professors.

These three professors created a space where youth could begin to foster an awareness of their creative voice. YouthINK deserves recognition because its facilitators did not wait for the community to voice a need, but anticipated one, and thereafter, proactively leveraged their passion for students and storytelling to seek out the creative writers of tomorrow. It is the competent and caring professor that helps students in their classroom identify their potential. It is, however, the exceptional professor that can foster that beyond their classroom.

It is not hyperbolic to suggest that on the other side on the YouthINK experience, that there are now a few more Etobicoke youth, that understand themselves to be viable vessels of creativity. There is no downside to having a young person (or anyone for that matter) connected to a broader understanding of their potential. For this reason alone, professors Fantetti, Milech and Feldbloom have provided a notable service to Humber's community at large. Beyond YouthINK, these three professors serve beyond our the borders of oour campuses.

Their community outreach extends to the entire Canadian creative writing community as well. All three of these full-time professors serve as editors for The Humber Literary Review. The Review is a magazine of creative writing aimed at providing emerging writers with a space to have their artistic voices heard and their exceptional work published. The Humber Literary Review also hosts a reading event in Toronto, where some of the writers published in the magazine are invited to read a portion of their work and where it is provided with the increased visibility of a live audience.

The YouthINK project is where a commitment to community, a love of teaching and a passion for creative writing converged to make an unforgettable experience for Humber and its broader community.