Office of Access and Outreach Volunteering Opportunities

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Office of Access and Outreach with our upcoming events. Please complete the form below at your earliest convenience and one of our representatives will follow up with you. You will also receive a copy of your submission via email for your records.

You will be asked to provide your contact information. The information that is collected from this form will not be shared with any other university departments or external contacts.  The information that we collect is used to identify OAO activities that you are interested in supporting.

Please select the option below that is applicable to you*

Student

Volunteer Opportunities
A Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) from within the past year is required to volunteer for the Office of Access and Outreach (OAO) programming. If you require a VSC and reside in the GTA, please contact oao.outreach@utoronto.ca to obtain a Vulnerable Sector Check (VSC) form. VSC forms will only be provided to approved Office of Access and Outreach volunteers. In your email, please specify which of our programs you are volunteering with and the city you reside in. If you reside outside the GTA, you must request a VSC from the municipality in which you reside. Read more about Vulnerable Sector Check and how to apply for it

Healthcare Professional or Researcher (Faculty)

Interested in getting involved with our programs but not sure where to start? Below we have provided some examples of ways you can support us in upcoming opportunities.
Speaker/Panelist
Throughout the academic year and the summer, we organize a variety of campus and community-based programming for high school students with an interest in health sciences. Faculty members are invited as guest speakers and panelists to share insights into their academic and professional journeys.

Some faculty members prefer the traditional lecture-style format where they present a slide deck to our learners highlighting their career journey and interest area(s) in research. Others prefer to be a part of a panel where a list of questions are provided to guide the discussions. The objective of both formats remains the same (i.e., to learn more about who you are and what you do). It’s just the method of delivery that varies based on personal preference.

Are you interested in being a speaker and/or panelist for our upcoming opportunities? Please select all that apply.
Workshop Facilitator
One of the proven, effective ways to engage our high school learners is through hands-on activities. We’ve had faculty members adapt their lab activities to a comprehensible level of understanding and engagement for high school students. These activities have taken place in the labs, classrooms, and clinical settings to provide an immersive learning experience for the students. If you are interested in facilitating hands-on activities but not quite sure how to go about it, a member of our team would be happy to meet with you to discuss it further.

Are you interested in facilitating a hands-on activity with our learners?
 
We understand that hands-on activities are not always possible due to capacity limitations, but our learners have also greatly benefited from site tours. These include labs, hospitals, and other clinical settings. These tours can range from 30 minutes to an hour or more (depending on availability). The key objective here is to expose the learners to a variety of academic and clinical settings.

Are you interested in organizing a site tour of your facility? If so, please indicate the name of the facility below. If not, you can put ‘not applicable’.
Mentorship/Observership
1:1 programming is also instrumental in the professional development of our learners as they are able to form impactful connections with individuals working in their fields of interest. Two of the ways we are able to build these connections for them are through mentoring and observerships.

For mentoring, we pair our learners with individuals who are able to support them with their academic and career explorations by sharing industry insights and providing tips on how to navigate post-secondary studies and the labour market. Mentors typically connect with their mentees weekly over the four-week period in July during a time that works for both parties. The check-ins can either be in-person or online.

Observership is usually a half/full day of job shadowing where the students get to learn more about what a typical day in the life looks like for you. Observerships also take place in July.

Are you interested in providing a mentoring and/or observership? Please select all that apply.
Are there any other areas you would like to collaborate with us on that is not already covered in the options outlined above? If so, please indicate below. If not, you can put ‘not applicable’

Healthcare Professional or Researcher (Non-faculty)

Interested in getting involved with our programs but not sure where to start? Below we have provided some examples of ways you can support us in upcoming opportunities.
Speaker/Panelist
Throughout the year and the summer, we organize a variety of campus and community-based programming for high school students with an interest in health sciences. Healthcare professionals and researchers have been invited as guest speakers and panelists to share insights into their professional journeys.

Some healthcare professionals and researchers prefer the traditional presentation style format where they present a slide deck to our learners highlighting their career journeys. Some deliver informal talks without a slide deck and instead focus on sharing their journeys aloud with the learners.

Others prefer to be a part of a panel where a list of questions are provided to guide the discussions. The objective for all formats remains the same (i.e., to learn more about who you are and what you do). It’s just the method of delivery that varies based on personal preference.

Are you interested in being a speaker and/or panelist for our upcoming opportunities? Please select all that apply.
Workshop Facilitator
One of the proven, effective ways to engage our high school learners is through hands-on activities. We’ve had healthcare professionals and researchers adapt their work activities to a comprehensible level of understanding and engagement for high school students.  For example, we’ve had physiotherapists lead rehabilitation activities to demonstrate some of their job functions and the equipment used with clients. These activities have taken place in the labs, classrooms and clinical settings to provide an immersive learning experience for the students. If you are interested in facilitating hands-on activities but not quite sure how to go about it, a member of our team would be happy to meet with you to discuss it further.

Are you interested in facilitating a hands-on activity with our learners?
 
We understand that hands-on activities are not always possible due to capacity limitations, but our learners have also greatly benefited from site tours. These include labs, hospitals, and other clinical settings. These tours can range from 30 minutes to an hour or more (depending on availability). The key objective here is to expose the learners to a variety of workplace settings that exist within the health sciences field.

Are you interested in organizing a site tour of your facility? If so, please indicate the name of the facility below. If not, you can put ‘not applicable’
Mentorship/Observership
1:1 programming is also instrumental in the professional development of our learners as they are able to form impactful connections with individuals working in their fields of interest. Two of the ways we are able to build these connections for them are through mentoring and observerships.

For mentoring, we pair our learners with individuals who are able to support them with their academic and career explorations by sharing industry insights and providing tips on how to navigate post-secondary studies and the labour market. Mentors typically connect with their mentees weekly over the four-week period in July during a time that works for both parties. The check-ins can either be in-person or online.

Observership is usually a half/full day of job shadowing where the students get to learn more about what a typical day in the life looks like for you. Observerships also take place in July.

Are you interested in providing a mentorship and/or observership? Please select all that apply.
Are there any other areas you would like to collaborate with us on that is not already covered in the options outlined above? If so, please indicate below. If not, you can put ‘not applicable’