For U of T Scarborough students Charesma Biaspal and Gajathree Ananthathurai, being able to serve as ambassadors at Convocation gives them another chance to celebrate their community.
“I wanted to represent UTSC one more time before I graduated,” says Biaspal, graduating with a major in city studies. “When you become immersed in a community, it becomes a part of you, and I feel connected to UTSC in so many ways.”
“When I came to UTSC, I wanted to build a sense of community on campus,” says Ananthathurai, who graduates with a specialist in mental health studies and major in neuroscience. “For me, being chosen as an ambassador is a great reflection that I achieved what I wanted to do here.”
Ananthathurai and Biaspal will address the graduating class of 2020 during U of T’s virtual Fall Convocation ceremony on Nov. 21, in a recorded message by a UTSC gonfalon, one of the various banners held during the ceremony.
Throughout her last three years at U of T Scarborough, Biaspal wore many hats across five departments on campus, which include supporting students as a residence advisor for Student Housing & Residence Life, an exam invigilator for AccessAbility Services, and events assistant at the International Student Centre.
Like many students, COVID-19 restrictions meant some academic plans weren’t possible this year, including studying abroad. While disappointed, Biaspal took the opportunity to dive into new learning experiences on campus, including her role as a research assistant for the department of human geography.
“For every lost opportunity, I got the opportunity to develop my skills in different ways and surround myself with great academics. It taught me that I was more resilient than I thought I was.”
Ananthathurai also has an extensive list of roles and involvement on and off-campus, from events and project management at the International Student Centre to co-president of the student-run Medical Educational Initiative Organization (MEIO), established to create awareness on epidemiology.
Her decision to get involved on campus stemmed from her goal to find and build community, and it’s something she wants to continue to facilitate, with sights on a career in the helping professions.
“When I first started at UTSC, I was looking for a way I could find my place on campus,” Ananthathurai says. “Eventually, I found it through my passion for facilitating platforms on campus where students could feel a sense of belonging and engagement with the UTSC community.”
While graduating during a global pandemic is not the traditional graduation ceremony they imagined, Biaspal and Ananthathurai both describe their cohort of graduates as resilient. And that’s something they can carry with them as they pursue their careers.
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, and what our families have been waiting for,” Biaspal says. “We’re creating moments to celebrate. The pandemic doesn’t erase the journey we’ve gone through.”
“We showed our resilience and perseverance during uncertain times,” Ananthathurai says. “We don’t know where the future might lead, but regardless, we’ve stood our ground. The graduating class is going through this experience together.”