Over the past five years, TVO Media Education Group (TVO) has proudly partnered with the Toronto District School Board’s Centre of Excellence for Black Student Achievement to host the Black Student Summer Leadership Program. Through this program student leaders gain hands-on experience, professional skill-building, and the opportunity to explore career pathways. From pitching ideas to executives to discovering new passions, these reflections from past participants highlight the lasting impact of the program and the confidence it inspires.
Here’s what some of our alumni had to say about their time at TVO:
The power of a first impression was a very essential skill that I learned at TVO. When you walk into a space, you need to make sure you're putting your best foot forward. You know that various students in the BSSLP have done that just through their natural cadence and by paying attention to the small nuances within the program.
– Angelika Bell, BSSLP Alumni 2022
I always remember distinctly the conversation I had with the team who creates the games at TVO and it really set me up to know what pathways there are in my future. I still go back to the things I wrote down that day when I met them and I will reference them for what I want to do in the future.
– Sachiel Andre, BSSLP Alumni 2023
After going to TVO I definitely wanted to do my undergrad in journalism. I became specifically interested in that when we spent time learning about pitching ideas work and how to choose a good story. That really stuck with me.
– Donielle Francis, BSSLP Alumni 2023
It helped me see more of what real-world experience is like. Those times at TVO when we had to come up with pitches for the CEO and COO, my heart was really racing! You just hear it from your teachers, but until you have that first-hand experience of seeing what it's truly like, then you really know.
– Shaphir Harvey, BSSLP Alumni 2022 & 2023