Vida Maksimoska, TRP Student, December 2020

In lieu of the changing times and social movements that took much of the world by storm in 2020, myself and a truly amazing committee of strong voices, motivated individuals, and leaders of innovation and change came together. United, we formed the Anti-Racism Committee (ARC) within the Translational Research Program (TRP) at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Our program teaches us to challenge the status quo and to help drive change! We wanted to do just that within our learning environments. We wanted to help educate other innovators, students, and peers about anti-racism work. We set out to educate folks about crucial issues, helping create a platform for discussion within our “own” program. Additionally, this committee aims to provide support to members of the TRP community, belonging to racialized or underrepresented minority groups.

I am so thrilled to say that our team is doing exceptional work, and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this team. Led by our amazing co-chairs Sabrin Salim and Maame Darkwa, together we have been working hard, to develop resources for our classmates, keep the equity-related conversation going, and help get a health equity course approved within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. This committee was created to help facilitate meaningful, concrete, and sustained anti-racism work within our program. I hope the new year will help us get even closer to reaching our goals.

If you have any questions feel free to email our team at trp.arc@utoronto.ca