Trinity One
(left to right) Prof. Joy Fitzgibbon, Susan He and Prof. Michael Kessler with Bear (foster dog)
Spotlight on members of the Trinity Community: Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program
Posted December 2, 2020
When COVID-19 lockdown hit in March 2020, Trinity’s Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program leadership team had three top priorities: working with the current students and faculty to help them successfully complete the 2019-2020 academic year; preparing for the new cohort of students – helping first-year students transition to university and join the program in the fall; and making sure that everyone continues to be well supported during these challenging times.
We sat down (virtually) with the Trinity One leadership team to find out how the pandemic has shifted the program, to learn more about their students, to discover what’s in store for the rest of the year, and to get some words of wisdom to support students as they navigate the added stresses of online learning during COVID-19.
- Joy Fitzgibbon, Associate Director of the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program, and Trinity One Instructor
- Susan He, Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program Coordinator
- Michael Kessler, Raymond Pryke Chair, Director of the Margaret MacMillan Trinity One Program, and Trinity One Instructor
These are their collective responses, followed by their personal experiences amid the pandemic.
Trinity College (TC): When you heard that the campus was going into lockdown due to COVID-19 in March, what was your initial reaction?
Trinity One (TO): Like many offices and programs, we began working on our online plans the same day we were told we could no longer run in-person events. Our number one priority was to maintain the integrity of our courses for the Trinity One students who had just three weeks left in their full year seminars. So many of these were building towards final projects and presentations and so we had to quickly adapt these for the online learning environment. Trinity One faculty worked very hard to ensure students received all the support they needed, and, as expected, it was the students whose hard work shone most brightly. We have been so impressed by their versatility and resilience through this process. The saddest part for us was to not be able to say goodbye to them in person.
TC: Tell us about your current Trinity One students, and how are they doing?
TO: We are privileged to have a diverse group of students in Trinity One. In the midst of the once in a century pandemic that we are living through, students are joining our online classes from around the world and demonstrating great fortitude and creativity as we all navigate these days together. We have students from 11 countries participating in one of our six streams. This truly international cohort of students bring diversity and vibrancy to our virtual seminar discussions. Students who are in different time zones are demonstrating flexibility and determination – attending classes that are held in the middle of the night their time and yet engaging with enthusiasm. One of the best stories this year, so far, is an international student who was having a conversation with her professor after class while making brownies in her kitchen because – well who does not like brownies? – but also because it would help her keep going through the next class. Her positivity and determination were infectious – in the best sense!
For first-year students who are making this transition to university, it is a challenging space in which to operate. The amount of screen time, the genuine anxiety around this pandemic and the workloads and requirements in university are a lot to handle. Our students are doing an exceptional job as they make this transition, despite the inevitable stress and challenges. Their commitment to learn, engage with enthusiasm and to navigate this new terrain to the best of their abilities is impressive.
TC: How has your program adapted to help students stay connected and supported, especially outside the virtual classroom, so they are getting the quintessential Trinity One experience?
TO: Even before moving online in March, the program existed as a vibrant online community utilizing the University’s platform Quercus. We have been using this platform to engage with our newly admitted group of students since June, giving them ample time to learn more about the expectations of the Trinity One program and university life in general. A team of program assistants – who are alumni, mentors and upper year students of the program – worked tirelessly during this transition phase.
We wanted to do everything we can to prepare our students. While in past years, we would hold a public speaking workshop a few weeks into term, this year we took advantage of the time between course enrollment and first week of class to practise seminar-style discussions over video conferencing and online discussion boards. Our students are keen so they were happy to start even before classes officially began!
Current students also receive one-on-one advising, attend virtual socials, and participate in study groups hosted by our amazing team of mentors. Our Instagram (@TrinityOneProgram) is quite active in showcasing interactions between students. Students have taken over the page to show a day in the life of a university student, recipes worth sharing, and hosting socially distanced activities.
TC: What has been the most challenging aspects of running the Trinity One Program amid a pandemic?
TO: There are three core challenges: First, is the significantly heavier workload brought about by the pandemic – adapting to new modalities and increasing needs. Second, is the fatigue caused by online platforms. Third, is the need to effectively manage the psychological stress of the pandemic – with ourselves, our colleagues and our students. Learning to navigate this diversity compassionately is essential. Above all we are responsible for keeping each other safe in this community – at Trinity, U of T and the City of Toronto. And we need to do so, finding ways to prevent alienation and loneliness while responding in effective and calming ways to fear.
TC: What has been the most rewarding aspect?
TO: There are indeed positive developments to this pandemic. This pandemic is helping us focus on what is essential in the classroom and to our students. Analytically, we must find new ways of communicating complex intellectual ideas in this online space. Online learning allows us to enter into each other’s private spaces and that informality has a way of breaking down barriers that might normally be present in a formal classroom setting. These challenges illuminate the need for kindness and grace in class discussions, encouraging us to be gentle with each other when something does not go right technologically or chuckling at delightful interruptions – like a dog barking or brothers and sisters asking an older sibling a question. There are also strengths to technology that we had not previously embraced and that we will need moving forward, even when we are free to meet in person again.
TC: Have there been any learnings that you will continue post-pandemic?
TO: The unknown forced us to be creative and open to change. The faculty have been extremely open to trying new things and paying attention to their students as the term progresses. This is an attitude that the Trinity One leadership team recognize we must continue to do going forward even when the university reopens for in-person teaching. We will come out of it with a broader outlook, better tools for teaching and learning, and overall more resiliency as a program.
TC: What’s in store for the program for the rest of the 2020-21 academic year?
TO: In keeping with past years, the program ends the fall term with some kind of holiday celebration. While it won’t be Christmas crackers or Secret Santa this year, we will be hosting de-stressor activities and providing some holiday care packages to students for self-care and wellness as students head into exam season. In term two, the program has typically helped students work towards building careers and academic skills for research and job searches – this year is no different, students will still aim to turn their Trinity One coursework into a research presentation for an undergraduate conference taking place at the College in March 2021.
Trinity One is also a culturally diverse program, with students bring their experiences from all parts of the globe – that is what makes many of the discussions in class so enriching. This year we are doing more to embrace this diversity outside of the classroom as well. We want students to share through food and arts how they celebrate significant holidays in different parts of the world. We realized this around the time of Canadian Thanksgiving, that not everyone eats turkey for Thanksgiving, or that it’s celebrated in the fall. We hope continue to promote diversity and cultural awareness throughout the year.
TC: Any advice for students as they head into the end of the term and final exams?
TO: Yes! Pace yourself. Academic life is a marathon, not a sprint. Try to break your work down into manageable chunks and don’t over commit yourself with additional responsibilities. Focus on what matters. In the midst, be abundantly kind with yourself. Do not feel guilty if you do not do everything perfectly. Prioritize your own sustained well-being. Take time to eat well, rest, exercise and do things (safely) that you enjoy and that are life giving for you. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the academic and personal supports that we offer here at Trinity. We are here to walk with you on this journey and we care about you and want to see you succeed. Sometimes, all you will need is some additional support to get through what might feel like an insurmountable problem but is not – whether managing a challenging schedule or dealing with anxiety and stress. Finally, keep all of this in perspective as much as possible. We will get through this pandemic. As Professor David Fisman [U of T infectious diseases epidemiologist] reminds us, pandemics have a beginning, a middle and an end. Despite the challenges in this moment, there is much to be hopeful for.
Rapid Fire Questions:
TC: Since the start of the pandemic, what has been…
