Five UTSC alumni on their volunteer leadership and its rich returns
Althea Fernandes (HBSc 2007 UTSC) didn’t have a lot of time to be involved with campus life when she was a student. As a member of the first cohort from the specialist (joint) paramedicine program, Fernandes found there were drawbacks to the rigorous training program – namely, to her experiences outside of the classroom.
“I didn’t have time for extra curriculars,” says Fernandes.
That all changed when Fernandes showed up at a spring reunion event in 2013, where she heard a speech about the importance of getting involved.
“I thought, you know what? Why not? I have a little more time now,” recalls Fernandes, who at the time was beginning a master’s program in counselling. “UTSC always felt like a family. This is a place that I could give back,” adds Fernandes, who landed the role of UTSC Alumni Association secretary that same year.
And it was a place where she could fill in some of that University experience that she had missed out on – connecting with more of her former classmates – through service.
Since then, Fernandes has been deeply engaged with the school. In 2015, she was named president of the UTSC Alumni Association, a two-year term that saw her support the development of an alumni advisory group and provide leadership on the UTSC afternoon tea, now a staple event for UTSC alum.
“I’m still part of the Advisory Board,” says Fernandes proudly, who also volunteers for the popular UTSC Partners in Leadership program, the Get Hired conference, and the Academic Advising and Career Centre’s job shadowing programming. This past year, Fernandes joined U of T’s College of Electors, a group of members representing the constituent alumni associations of the University of Toronto Alumni Association, as a UTSC alumni representative.
“There’s value in experience,” says Fernandes on why she continues to volunteer in mentorship and advisory roles, adding, “I don’t see the point of someone else having to struggle if you’ve struggled through it. The way I see the world is, if you have knowledge or insight you’ve gained, why not share it?”
“Philanthropic volunteerism”
For Stefan Sierakowski (BA 1968 UTSC), providing leadership and engagement as a form of giving back can take a multitude of forms. First and foremost, it’s an expression of gratitude for his and his classmates’ unique U of T experience.
Sierakowski was one of the 191 students that made up Scarborough College’s first student cohort. “We were part of a very special group, being the first,” he says, and while it was an exciting experience, students from that era were keenly aware of the lack of support that would typically be provided by alumni.
“[The College] didn’t have any graduates who could start something like a scholarship, so the Principal went to some local people in the community, and they became foster alumni. They donated time and money to Scarborough to offer scholarships to the incoming class,” says Sierakowski.
Those foster alumni made an indelible impression on the first graduates of Scarborough College – the echoes of which can be felt by students and alumni through the past 53 years.
Stephanie Geddes (BA 1968 UTSC) was one of those first students who received a scholarship – and whose education was supported by those foster alumni.
“I was really grateful to Scarborough College. Even though tuition wasn’t high, it was a struggle for me. As long as I kept my marks up, my tuition was covered all those years,” says Geddes, who has been an active alumna for the past three decades.
With their strong feelings of gratitude, many ‘early years’ alumni felt the need to give back. In the 1990s, for instance, once the dual pressures of career and family began to ease off, both Stephanie and her husband, Bruce Geddes (BA 1968 UTSC) found ways to become involved with the school. Stephanie became a director on the UTSC Alumni Association board, and has been for many years now. She was also an advisor and lead organizer for the Alumni Tea events. Taking a similar tack, Bruce was elected president of the Alumni Association, and also continues his service as an advisory board member.
“[This work] has enlarged my breadth of knowledge, allowed me to connect with people from different backgrounds and pushed me out of my comfort zone. The leadership side of me is getting nourished. Volunteering has given me the opportunity to grow different aspects of myself" - Althea Fernandes
With other friends – including Stefan Sierakowski and his wife Janice (BA 1969 UTSC) Bruce and Stephanie developed an ideal way to honour their experiences as undergraduates, and pay it forward to the next generation.
“Stefan [Sierakowski] and I basically got a committee going to try to come up with an idea symbolizing how the first graduating class could donate something to the College. Turned out we were able to raise money for first year scholarships,” says Bruce Geddes.
The group expand their initiative to include those who graduated in the early 1970s. A fundraising event was held on the Scarborough campus, with the idea of raising $20,000 – a goal which, if met, the University would match.
Ultimately, the group decided to name the scholarship after a Class of 1971 grad whose birthday was celebrated that night through a $20,000 scholarship donation. The endowed Vito Ierullo and First Classes of UTSC Entrance Award was created, with the first award handed out in 2012.
“Every year when I pledge my money, it goes directly into that scholarship. Other people do, also,” says Sierakowski.
Sierakowski uses the term “philanthropic volunteerism” to describe this kind of effort – of bringing people together for a cause, and he hopes to inspire others with their example.
“Other graduating years might like to have their own scholarship,” says Sierakowski. “Imagine what would be possible for UTSC if every year did something similar?”
Next Gen
Sierakowski didn’t start volunteering as an alumnus; he’d been very active as a student volunteer. He had provided security during an art exhibition staged along the new Humanities Wing hallway, for instance – a position that led him to meet his future wife, Janice – and he was named “chief tour guide,” a volunteer position that saw him organize tours and guides for flocks of tourists hoping to view the remarkable brutalist architecture of what was the brand-new Humanities and Science building.
“All that volunteer activity forced discipline on me,” says Sierakowski, who would later serve as a director on the Alumni Association board.
“The school has expanded so much: the courses it offers, the staff and faculty it provides, the degrees it now offers, the new buildings year after year… UTSC is becoming a tremendously research-based university. It is especially known as co-op university. Volunteering makes me a part of that,” he says.
And while associative pride is a strong reason for some alumni volunteers to get involved, that space to provide community citizenship is a main reason why Wayne Snow (HBA 2000 UTSC) chooses to give his time to UTSC.
When he signed up to mentor a student in the Partners in Leadership program in 2013 and 2020, Snow felt he had something important to give back. “I was very fortunate to have good mentors. As you get further on in your career, there’s a responsibility to turn around and reach back and help others who are starting in their careers,” he says.
“Hopefully I provide value in the same way that I was helped early in my career. I get fulfillment from that.”- Wayne Snow
But Snow is clear that mentor volunteers in the program gain from the relationships they form, as well.
“It’s nostalgic, and I enjoy it from that perspective,” says Snow. “Hopefully I provide value in the same way that I was helped early in my career. I get fulfillment from that,” adds Snow, who to this day meets with his former mentors.
Others who donate their time, either on the Alumni board or through events, feel similarly. “There have been activities where we mixed with young people who are about to graduate. It’s interesting for them – because they like hearing about the history [of UTSC]. We like hearing about what’s going on now. It keeps us young,” says Stephanie Geddes.
Fernandes, on the other hand, feels that her volunteer work at UTSC also has helped her grow professionally. “[This work] has enlarged my breadth of knowledge, allowed me to connect with people from different backgrounds and pushed me out of my comfort zone. The leadership side of me is getting nourished. Volunteering has given me the opportunity to grow different aspects of myself,” she says.
Still other volunteers feel that they are carving out paths that others may follow.
“We serve as models for other alumni. They hear about us, or work with us, or come to events. That heightens the importance of our role. Maybe they think twice about going to events or becoming a donor. In that sense, we try to encourage engagement,” says Bruce Geddes.
And as Fernandes notes, every alumnus’ engagement is important: “If we can connect with alumni in different professions and different stages in their careers, we then have this network – almost like a safety net – to reach out and strengthen our community.”
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