Student

Their professors stood in front of the class and proudly proclaimed that students didn’t have to pay a thing for their course readings. They would be able to access all of their readings online thanks to the zero-to-low cost course (ZTLCC) project.

The project connects professors with librarians to find ways of sourcing course material digitally.

“Students were paying exorbitant prices for these course packs for things that were already available for free,” says Graeme Slaght, copyright outreach librarian at �鶹��Ƶ libraries’ scholarly communications and copyright office.

The program, run by the copyright office, is estimated to have saved students over $400,000 since 2015.

Slaght says the cost of non-digital course packs can range from $40 to over $200.

The project was launched in the fall of 2014 after �鶹��Ƶ decided to manage its own copyright dealings instead of utilizing the non-profit licensing service, Access Copyright.

Most of the material the university sources is part of �鶹��Ƶ libraries’ electronic collections. The rest was obtained through the fair-dealing provision of the Copyright Act, which allows academic institutions to use copyrighted material, for which they may not have a license, as long as they meet certain criteria.

Professors from all three campuses can contact the copyright office if they want to participate in the project.

Kate Neville did just that. The assistant professor of political science, cross appointed with the School of the Environment, took advantage of the project as soon as she began teaching at �鶹��Ƶ last year.

The copyright office says each of Neville’s students has saved $118.

“I really like the idea of using resources that �鶹��Ƶ already has to help students minimize their additional costs for an already expensive education,” she says.

Neville says the program has allowed her to be flexible with the content she includes in the course.

“One of the nice things about the online readings is you can add readings later on that puts them with the rest of [students’] readings,” she says. “I liked the idea of a streamlined system that was integrated with a course website that they already had to be checking.”

And the library made the process easy and straightforward.

“Rather than me having to find those resources, photocopy them, provide them as you do for most of the course pack work, they did that groundwork,” says Neville. “I’m really appreciative of the library thinking of innovative ways to help students access materials.”

And the students are grateful as well.

“I had a student after an exam come up to me specifically to say that they were very pleased I had used this online reading source. They were glad to not to have had to buy a course pack,” Neville says.

Managing electronic resources is very complex and the resource librarian role is relatively new, says Slaght.

“So a lot of these issues like the value for electronic resources in teaching specifically and cost mitigation, there haven’t been many librarians who have been able to do a calculation on the value," he says. "Identifying that through these courses has been making that possible.”

Beyond this program, course reserves and syllabus services are also offered at all three campuses to help instructors deal with copyright issues, make readings available digitally and convert print to digital materials.

#UofTGrad16: this computer science grad is already planning to give back

lanthierj — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 19:40:10 +0000

#UofTGrad16: this computer science grad is already planning to give back

lanthierj Thu, 06/16/2016 - 15:40

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(photos by Diana Tyszko)

Christine Elias

Author legacy

Christine Elias

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Arts & Science

Artificial Intelligence

Subheadline

“I wanted nothing more than to continue my education at �鶹��Ƶ.”

Dhyey Sejpal already knows where he’s headed after graduation: back to Amazon, where he worked as an intern last summer.

But instead of returning to Seattle (where he earned enough to pay for this last year of school) Sejpal will remain in Canada.

“I was offered a position in Seattle, but I requested a transfer to Amazon’s Toronto office because I want to give back to the University of Toronto by volunteering as a student mentor in the Department of Computer Science’s Innovation Lab (DCSIL),” Sejapal said.

Sejpal just graduated with high distinction from the University of Toronto with a specialist in computer science focusing on artificial intelligence – but he took a roundabout route. Sejpal — who grew up in Rajkot, the fourth largest city in the state of Gujarat — was initially accepted to �鶹��Ƶ but decided to stay in India for financial reasons. He began his academic career at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore —one of that nation’s top technical universities.

“I realized that IIT was not going to challenge me,” said Sejpal, who finished at the top of his first-year class in India. “I wanted nothing more than to continue my education at �鶹��Ƶ.”

He reapplied to �鶹��Ƶ as a transfer student and was accepted again but the move required sacrifices.

“My family still didn’t have that much liquid cash, so my parents took out a loan to help make my university dream come true.”

Despite having only one computer science transfer credit, Sejpal completed his �鶹��Ƶ degree in three years.

“I studied very hard because I knew how much my family had sacrificed,” said Sejpal. “I wanted to show everyone that this was the right decision and that it was worth every penny spent.”

His transition to Canada was challenging: everything was different — the weather, the culture, the food — and he missed his family, not to mention his mother’s vegetarian cooking.

“I did a lot of walking that first year — rain, snow or hail, it didn’t matter — it didn’t seem worth it to spend the money for two subway stops,” said Sejpal. “We took out a loan and I wanted to be responsible.”

When he didn’t land a summer internship after his first year, Sejpal decided to spend the break at home in India.

(Below: Sejpal with his parents Dipti Sejpal and Mayur Sejpal at Convocation Hall)

Refreshed, re-energized and well-fed thanks to his mother: “I gained back the 20 kilograms I lost from all that walking,” Sejpal returned to �鶹��Ƶ ready to redouble his efforts.

He ended up with a 4.0 GPA while taking six 300- and 400-level computer science courses in his second year at �鶹��Ƶ. He also worked as a teaching assistant for Data Structures and Analysis.

That helped him land his first summer internship in Seattle at Amazon.

Sejpal worked on full stack development of an automatic email notification service containing donation metrics for Amazon’s Smile project — a corporate philanthropy program launched in 2013.

“It was a great experience. There were rooftop parties every month that ensured we had fun while working. I learned a lot, but was especially thrilled with the $30,000 I earned,” said Sejpal. “That paid for my last year of school — my parents were incredibly proud of me and it felt great to take my first steps towards financial independence.”

Before Sejpal returns to Amazon later this summer he plans to show his parents — who are visiting for his graduation ceremony — around Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City. And he says he wants to stay in close contact with his mentors, Mario Grech and Helen Kontozopoulos, DCSIL’s co-directors and founders.

“After learning as much as I can at Amazon and saving some money, I plan to become an entrepreneur,” said Sejpal. “A startup — perhaps in robotics — is definitely in my future.”

Read about more Faculty of Arts & Science grads:

Theodora Bruun

Clive Davies

Daniel Derkach

Nicolai Farber

Adlai Salcedo

Almost 500 sworn in as citizens at �鶹��Ƶ's Convocation Hall – including undergrad and professor

sgupta — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 10:43:55 +0000

Almost 500 sworn in as citizens at �鶹��Ƶ's Convocation Hall – including undergrad and professor sgupta Mon, 02/08/2016 - 05:43

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Yaser Nabib (pictured here with Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr) is in his first year of civil engineering at �鶹��Ƶ (all photos by Johnny Guatto)

Alan Christie

Author legacy

Alan Christie

See a photo gallery of the ceremony

Upfold came to Canada in May, 2011 from Britain. Her husband Chris, seven-year-old son Stanley and Elsie are all Canadian. She said “it is so lovely that all of our family now is Canadian. It is a privilege to become one.” Elsie, when not exploring through people’s bags, took a Canadian flag from Chancellor Michael Wilson.

Yaser Nabib, 18, was there with his mom Iftasum, both becoming citizens after arriving here from Bangladesh five years ago. Nabib is in first year of civil engineering at �鶹��Ƶ.

“I’m so proud of him,” Iftasum said. “He is a really good student.”

Suzanne Stevenson, born in Virginia, has been in Canada for 16 years. It was her son Kiva who said she should become a citizen.

A professor of computer science at �鶹��Ƶ, Stevenson (pictured below) said she became quite emotional while being sworn in as a Canadian. “My son said it would mean a lot to him for me to do this. I love the country of my birth but I love Canada. It has the social values that I admire.

“I became quite emotional taking the oath, and I am quite emotional just talking about it now.”

In an email to �鶹��Ƶ News on Feb 8, Stevenson said that when she returned to Santa Barbara where she is on sabbatical, her husband, �鶹��Ƶ Professor Sven Dickinson, was holding a Canadian flag.

“Probably the first time that has ever happened in little Santa Barbara,” she said.

Twenty-four-year-old Jeanette Salvador and her sister Alexis, 14, from The Philippines, were both sworn-in. “It’s a great feeling,” she said. “My mother worked very hard for this.”

It was also an emotional day for Shirley Hoy, vice-chair of the Governing Council and chair elect. Born in China, she said the ceremony brought back memories of when she became a citizen. Hoy (pictured below) said she experienced “the undeniable challenges you have overcome to be here today.”

John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, administered the oath the new citizens repeated, first in French, then English.

Speaking before giving the oath, McCallum (pictured at right with Gertler) said there are “certain parallels” between the people who are now Canadians and the 25,000 Syrian refugees Canada is accepting.

“It tells you something about the nature of the country you are about to join,” he said. The government’s plan to find homes for the refugees is a “national non-partisan project. It speaks to why Canada seeks out newcomers to build our country.”

The civil war in Syria has created “the worst refugee crisis for decades, and during a time when other countries are reticent to receive refugees, we are standing out as a welcoming beacon,” McCallum said.

He said “once you become a citizen, no one can take that away from you.” All Canadians, he said, no matter how long they have been in the country, “have equal rights and equal responsibilities.”

McCallum said it is a huge pleasure for him to take part in a citizenship ceremony, “especially in one of Canada’s top universities.”

Chancellor Wilson urged the new citizens to “learn more about your country, read our history, vote in elections and become engaged in your community.” Such things, he said, will help them get “the full measure of being a Canadian.”

Gertler said “throughout our history, Canada’s greatest strength has been its people. We are blessed with abundant natural resources and a favourable location on the globe, but Canadians built and continue to build this great country, its institutions and its values.”

Canada, he said, “embraces the broadest range of people, encourages the free expression of perspectives and ideals,” and the �鶹��Ƶ community is like Canada in that “we prize inclusion, respect and civility in our shared pursuit of the common goals.”

Gertler said as he looked out upon the new Canadians and their families, “I am immensely optimistic about our future. Your ideas, your traditions, your perspectives will make our great nation more vibrant, more dynamic, more successful and a better place for us all.”

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TEDxUTSC brings big ideas to �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough campus

sgupta — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 17:07:36 +0000

TEDxUTSC brings big ideas to �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough campus sgupta Wed, 02/03/2016 - 12:07

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“I spend my days working with some of the most underprivileged students in the world,” UTSC grad Valerie Visani, who teaches at a university in Congo, told the audience (all photos courtesy TEDxUTSC)

Sayada Nabi

Author legacy

Sayada Nabi

Sayada Nabi is a student intern at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Below, she shares her impressions of the TEDxUTSC conference held on Jan. 30.

Dare to know – that was the theme of the fourth TEDxUTSC conference, as a diverse range of speakers and performers shared tales of their quests for knowledge and self-discovery, encouraging audiences to reevaluate the way they think.

University of Toronto Scarborough alumna Valerie Visani started the day off with her presentation about what life is like for the students she teaches in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She discussed the obstacles and depths of corruption students have to combat in order to receive an education.

“I hope that you start the conversation for education...across Africa and the globe for students who are just fighting for their fair chance at a basic human right,” Visani said.

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough student and Oneida woman Diane Hill explored “what it means to be a university student as well as being a native woman, navigating a post-secondary institution.” She talked about her need to get in touch with her heritage and urged that education about Indigenous issues become mandatory in the Canadian post-secondary education system.

“How do you create community for yourself in a colonized world?” Hill asked.

Presentations by Associate Professor Shafique Virani and Associate Professor Maria Assif addressed the consequences of stereotypes and role of education in dealing with societal issues.

“When you construct stereotypes about others you are reducing the whole group to one particular instance in history,” said Assif, whose expertise includes such topics as racism, colonialism and the literature of Arab women.

“When we are presented with only a certain subset of a story we are liable to make errors of judgment and wrong decisions,” Virani echoed the sentiments. An Islamic studies expert, Virani is also known for his global volunteer work and support for schools in disadvantaged communities worldwide.

Keeping the audience on their toes, one presenter came with more than just a speech and a slide show. Admirers call him the father of wearable technology, and his presentation was packed with gadgets from the future. Only the future was now, and Steve Mann brought it to the audience.

Mann discussed augmented reality and demonstrated how the newest wearable technology works, to the fascination of the audience.

Along with the talks that focused on education and technology, several of the speakers challenged the audience to discover more about themselves.

Melanie Blackman, �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough’s community development coordinator, urged the audience to find the rhythm of their lives, even if it requires stepping out of their comfort zone.

UTSC alumnus Hamza Khan’s presentation was a cautionary tale about his honest account of burning out due to his competitiveness and desire to constantly over achieve. “Burn bright, not out,” Khan said.

The conference concluded with Maliha Chishti reminding the audience “To do good, you have to be good.”

Sayada Nabi is a student at the University of Toronto Scarborough

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At the intersection of dance and nitroglycerin

sgupta — Fri, 04 Dec 2015 02:32:51 +0000

At the intersection of dance and nitroglycerin sgupta Thu, 12/03/2015 - 21:32

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“I feel happy after I dance,” Kangbin Zhou says, “and that happiness helps me overcome despair or frustration after a difficult day in the lab.”

Erin Howe

Author legacy

Erin Howe

Subheadline

PhD student leads on the dance floor and in researching why angina treatment works

By day, Kangbin Zhou researches what makes nitroglycerin – a common treatment for chest pain also known as angina – effective.

By night, the fourth-year pharmacology and toxicology PhD student can be found tearing up the dance floor as the founder and instructor of a �鶹��Ƶ urban dance club.

Zhou is the first recipient of the Dr. Malle Jurima-Romet Award in Pharmacology and Toxicology, which recognizes both his academic excellence and his involvement in the arts. The award is named in honour of Jurima-Romet, who earned her PhD from the department while doing research into pharmacogenetics.

Before her death last year from cancer, Jurima-Romet had a diverse range of interests encompassing both science and art. As a scientist focused on drug metabolism, she wrote more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, and co-edited books on biomarkers in drug development as well as drug-to-drug interactions. During her career, she worked as a scientist for Health Canada followed by a successful career in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and served as an adjunct professor at both the University of Montreal and the University of Ottawa.

Jurima-Romet was also an accomplished artist who worked with watercolour and oil paints as well as pastels. She received invitations to display her work at group and solo shows, and her paintings can be found in private collections in Canada, the United States and Europe. She was also a master instructor of Japanese Ikebana flower arranging and had a love for music with included experience playing piano and violin.

Like Jurima-Romet, Zhou’s passions include science and art.

“Dance not only gave me a brand new experience, it also gave me a new way to reduce stress,” he says.“I feel happy after I dance and that happiness helps me overcome despair or frustration after a difficult day in the lab.”

Zhou’s PhD studies explore nitroglycerin, which has been most commonly used to treat angina for more than 100 years. Despite the drug’s well-established utility for treating chest pain, scientists still don’t understand why it is effective, and why people become less responsive to it during long-term therapy. Zhou focuses on a special protein called aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH-2), which some scientists believe could be responsible for making nitroglycerin work. This protein might become inactivated during chronic treatment.

Many people, and especially people with Asian ancestry, carry ALDH-2 in a mutated form. Current literature suggests this mutation may cause the protein to function less efficiently. Zhou wants to know if this protein is what makes the drug work, and if so, whether the dose and delivery method need to be tailored for people with the enzyme mutation. He also wants to know how this protein becomes inactivated in patients during long-term treatment.

“My mother had angina when I was a child. I can remember her asking me to grab her medication whenever she had acute chest pain. That’s what inspired me to become involved in drug research.”

As Zhou completed his BSc at the University of British Colombia, he began to dabble in salsa dance. While he pursued his MSc, Zhou also trained at a professional Latin dance school, helping him maintain a balanced lifestyle and grow a broad social network. As he began his PhD studies at �鶹��Ƶ, he joined the �鶹��Ƶ Dance Club and took dance classes at Hart House. He went on to launch a new club called Urban Dance Revolution, which offers affordable lessons to �鶹��Ƶ students.

“Graduate and PhD students may not have opportunities to pursue outside interests because often they just don’t have that extra money to do it,” says Tiit Romet, Jurima-Romet’s husband of more than 25 years, who established the award. “There’s more to a person than academics. If a student can realize some of their other potential and feed their passion for something else like music or art while they are furthering their education, their university experience will be all the better.”

The award will help Zhou further his own dance training while expanding the dance club and its work.

“I want students to have a chance to learn from – and be inspired by – their peers instead of professional instructors,” Zhou says. “These students might say, ‘I see my dance ‘instructor’ is taking the same academic classes I am, so maybe one day I can become like them.”

(Learn more about Urban Dance Revolution)

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Convocation 2015: from political refugee to political science degree

sgupta — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 14:57:02 +0000

Convocation 2015: from political refugee to political science degree sgupta Mon, 11/16/2015 - 09:57

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Political science grad Sara Rahimi grew up in a family that believed in debate and freedom of expression, even when it came at a cost (photo by Ken Jones)

Don Campbell

Author legacy

Don Campbell

Subheadline

After fleeing Iran in 2001, alumna and her family settled in Canada ten years ago

When Sara Rahimi took to the steps of Convocation Hall to receive her degree in political science, it fulfilled a very important wish of her late father.

“He was a political cartoonist,” she says. “Even though he was forced to flee his country for what he drew, he never gave up on his passion.”

Rahimi grew up in a political household. Her family always talked about politics and her father, Said Rahimi, always encouraged debate. Her father’s cousin, an investigative journalist, covered politically sensitive stories that the mainstream media in Iran didn’t touch – including bloody tribal conflicts.

Rahimi distinctively remembers sneaking into a private meeting between her father and his cousin one time, while they were reviewing footage of a man being tortured to death in a rural area of Iran.

“I was only 13 but I remember that footage to this day,” she says. “This was before the Internet and social media made these stories more accessible. It also wasn’t safe to be an investigative journalist, especially in Iran, so they often had to keep the stories they were working on private.”

Her father’s publication was known for tackling political issues in Iran that others simply wouldn’t touch. It soon began to attract attention overseas, especially in Germany, which in turn attracted negative attention from the Iranian government.

“My father was approached by government officials and warned to stop publishing or else. So he decided it was time to leave.”

Leaving under the cover of darkness

Using contacts in Azerbaijan and with the help of a smuggler, Rahimi’s family took a bus from their hometown of Qom to the border, where they had to walk the rest of the way.

“We couldn’t officially cross the border because it would have alerted the Iranian government. I remember it was a 20-hour walk, most of it in the dark, across some fast running rivers. Once we got across the border we had to connect with my father’s contacts and hide.”

After a meeting with the United Nations office in Azerbijan about being relocated as refugees, they found out there were several countries in the West willing to sponsor the family. This was 2001, right before the 9/11 attacks. The Rahimi family would remain in Azerbaijan until 2005 before a spot finally opened up in Canada. They settled in Hamilton, Ontario.

A new life

Adapting to a new life in Canada was not easy for Said Rahimi. In Iran he was responsible for illustrating important political issues but in Canada it was a struggle to find meaningful employment. He persisted and eventually began to find his way, enrolling in Mohawk College’s police foundations program while taking English classes at night.

But, in 2007, Said died in a car accident while at work as a delivery driver. It was a difficult time especially for Sara, who had to step in and fill many of the roles her father had played for the family.

Before he died, Said Rahimi had started re-drawing his old political cartoons while crafting new ones in preparation for a public exhibition. Many of his most poignant cartoons touched on the themes of conflict, the effects of war, the meddling of the West on politics in the Middle East as well as human rights.

More than a year after his death the exhibition was held in his honour, attended by some of Canada’s best known political cartoonists, including Brian Gable, Graeme MacKay, Roy Carless and the legendary Terry Mosher.

“My father was definitely a big influence on my life. He firmly believed in free speech and wasn’t willing to compromise on that even when he was threatened,” she says.

Politics runs in the family

Rahimi was attracted to political science at �鶹��Ƶ mainly because of her background but also the many disciplines that connect with politics, namely psychology, philosophy, economics and sociology.

“Sara was a diligent student who actively participated in class discussions, was genuinely engaged in her studies and never shied away from a challenge,” says Renan Levine, who taught Rahimi several political science courses at UTSC.

“Her memorable life story informed her research, in particular a paper investigating whether young immigrants to Canada from non-democratic countries are more cynical about government and less trusting of government compared to their non-immigrant peers.”

In addition to her family, Rahimi says she is thankful for the extra help and guidance she received from her high school teachers, Carol Town, Jeff Pattinson and especially, Ian McSkimming, her high school English teacher at Sir John A. MacDonald in Hamilton.

“I was 18 when I came to Canada and started high school. Without his help and guidance I’m not sure where I would be.”

As for the future, Rahimi will soon help her mother open a new restaurant in Burlington while also working as a paralegal in the GTA. She hopes to attend law school one day but, in the meantime, she's celebrating convocation and being the first in her family to graduate from university.

It’s something she knows would make her father proud.

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The increasing desperation of refugees in Turkey

sgupta — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:27:35 +0000

The increasing desperation of refugees in Turkey sgupta Mon, 11/16/2015 - 07:27

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Syrian refugee in Ankara, Turkey (photo by Volkan_83 via flickr)

Terry Lavender

Author legacy

Terry Lavender

Topic

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

International

Research

Subheadline

Young adults are vulnerable, says �鶹��Ƶ student Alizee Zapparoli-Manzoni-Bodson

Images of Syrian refugees trudging wearily along roads or clinging precariously as their boats are buffeted by the waves are all too familiar to people in Europe and North America.

But the thousands of refugees trying to get to Europe are just some of the millions who have been displaced in the Middle East and elsewhere in recent years.

Turkey alone is home to more than two million refugees, many of whom have been languishing there for decades, says �鶹��Ƶ student Alizee Zapparoli-Manzoni-Bodson. And they’re not just from Syria – Turkey is overwhelmed by asylum-seekers from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Somalia as well, she says.

Zapparoli-Manzoni-Bodson first went to Turkey to study Iranian asylum-seekers as a diaspora and transnational studies undergraduate student in 2013. Now a student in the one-year collaborative program in diaspora and transnational studies and Near and Middle Eastern civilizations (and with her eye on the doctoral program), Zapparoli-Manzoni-Bodson has gone back to Turkey every year since then and will return next April to continue her research.

She talked to a variety of refugees, including political activists, LGBT, Christians, Baha’is and Azeris.

“Currently, Iranian asylum-seekers are limited to temporary stay in Turkey while they apply for refugee status abroad, creating a protracted state of limbo, sometimes lasting up to three years. During this time they are unable to work, or pursue education. With limited rights and financial difficulties this period of transit is extremely difficult,” she says.

Since her initial studies, she’s expanded her focus to include Syrian and Palestinian refugees. The latter are the most concern for her. “They’re refugees twice-over,” she says. “First from Palestine, and then from Syria.”

There’s a common misperception in the west that most refugees in Turkey are in camps, Zapparoli-Manzoni-Bodson says. In fact, the vast majority live in Turkey’s major cities, such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

She says the situation is getting desperate. “These refugees survive however they can, often through precarious, illegal employment as tailors, waiters, labourers or even sex workers. With difficulties accessing the labour market and schools, many find themselves stuck in limbo. With two million people and mostly in urban centres, resources are depleting and tensions rising.”

�鶹��Ƶ undergrad places first in Canadian Opera Company competition

sgupta — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 14:04:07 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ undergrad places first in Canadian Opera Company competition sgupta Fri, 11/06/2015 - 09:04

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Emily D’Angelo took first prize and the audience choice award at the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio Competition (photo of the competition finals by Michael Cooper)

Jessica Lewis

Author legacy

Jessica Lewis

Subheadline

For the second year in a row, winner comes from Faculty of Music

Mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, a fourth-year undergraduate in the Faculty of Music’s voice studies program, has won the prestigious first prize and the audience choice award at the Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio Competition, Centre Stage.

D’Angelo was chosen from 120 applicants and then a final round of eight singers from across Canada. Two other finalists are Faculty of Music alumni – baritone Zachary Read and soprano Eliza Johnson.

D’Angelo accepted her awards at the final competition on November 3 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Karine Boucher and Charles Sy hosted the event; the latter won last year’s first prize and audience choice award as well.

“To work with the world-class music staff at the Canadian Opera Company was a great honour, and it was a pleasure to meet and learn from the other extremely talented finalists,” says D’Angelo. “The competition was an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life. The incredible energy of the audience demonstrated what a supportive community we have in Toronto, and was a very moving example of the overwhelming power of music.”

The first prize, a $5,000 reward, is supported by the chair of the Canadian Opera Company’s Board of Directors. The audience choice prize is worth $1,500.

“Since its inception in 2011, Centre Stage has become one of the most important annual events for the Canadian Opera Company and is quickly gaining a reputation as one of this country’s foremost vocal competitions,” says Alexander Neef, the general director for the Canadian Opera Company. “The reason why is clear after witnessing the performances by these talented singers from across Canada. There is an amazing operatic pedigree being cultivated in this country and Centre Stage is a celebration of that talent and the potential they have to enrich Canada’s artistic future.”

This is just the latest in an ever-expanding list of accolades for D’Angelo. This year, she has already won an Encouragement Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation Lieder/ArtSong Competition and the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song from the Faculty of Music and was selected as a finalist for both the Mary Trueman Art Song Competition in New York City and the OREL Foundation Rediscovered Voices Competition in Los Angeles.

D’Angelo has been taught by soprano Elizabeth McDonald, a sessional lecturer at the Faculty of Music, since she was 16 – from high school to university.

“This is a young woman who has worked harder than anybody I know,” says McDonald. “She’s been persistent, is driven and has sought out opportunities beyond what has ever been suggested. She goes from opportunity to opportunity to strength to strength. And ultimately, she realizes that her performance isn’t really about her, it’s about being part of the collective of musicians on stage and the audience in the hall, which is admirable.”

D’Angelo has previously played the roles of Sesto in Giulio Cesare at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Nerone in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Annio in La clemenza di Tito at the Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Berta in The Barber of Seville at Opera York and Cherubino in scenes from The Marriage of Figaro in a �鶹��Ƶ Opera production. D’Angelo has participated in young artists programs at the Ravinia Festival, SongFest at Colburn and Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She made her solo debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2011.

D’Angelo will sing at the Norcop Prize in Song recital with pianist Sonya Sim at Walter Hall in March 2016. This summer, she will join the Gerdine Young Artist program at Opera Theatre Saint Louis to play the role of the mystic/blind woman in the world premiere of Shalimar the Clown, and cover the role of composer in Ariadne auf Naxos.

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Just how bad is your commute?

sgupta — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 10:20:16 +0000

Just how bad is your commute? sgupta Fri, 11/06/2015 - 05:20

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(All photos by Alan Christie)

Alan Christie

Author legacy

Alan Christie

Topic

Are you a student? Take the survey

Up at 6:45 a.m., she receives a car ride from older sister Aqdas, who drops her off at the corner of Steeles Ave. and Markham Rd., her usual bus stop at 7:45 a.m. A �鶹��Ƶ News writer accompanied her on the rest of the way downtown.

7:57 a.m. The Steeles Ave. bus arrives, half full. Malik is carrying her cell phone, a container of tea and her knapsack. In it she has two school books – The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs and Rule by Aesthetics by Asher Ghertner. She also has her lunch, sliced cucumbers and apples and a tuna sandwich, and her dinner, Chinese rice.

Malik, 21, is in her first year of the master’s program in science and urban geography. She’s been interested in public transit since high school, then during her years as an undergrad at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough.

“Going to UTSC was great,” she says. “It really prepared me for St. George. Scarborough was like a small community but its programs were really diverse.”

She is one of five girls in the family, all born in Canada. Her parents are from Pakistan.

8:32 a.m. Steeles and Old English Lane. Standing room only on the bus. Many young people are listening to music on their smart phones but Malik begins working on a class project.

“The bus is sometimes my desk, sometimes my breakfast table, and sometimes my bed,” she says, noting that she occasionally falls asleep both on the bus going to school and going home.

She is working on a project for her methods class, taught by Matti Siemiatycki, associate professor, teaching stream, in the department of geography and planning, and one of the organizers of the transit survey. It is being sent out to thousands of students and the results will be known in the new year.

Anna Theodosakis: first student to direct a major �鶹��Ƶ Opera production

sgupta — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 10:48:21 +0000

Anna Theodosakis: first student to direct a major �鶹��Ƶ Opera production sgupta Thu, 11/05/2015 - 05:48

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“I love performing, but I realized I really enjoy the creative side and analyzing not just a character I would play, but the whole show,” Anna Theodosakis says (above photo courtesy Anna Theodosakis

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Anna Theodosakis: first student to direct a major �鶹��Ƶ Opera production