Inspiring Change: High School Students Explore Speech-Language Pathology at U of T
PhD student Ala Refai and Dr. Liz Cross teach the complex anatomy and physiology of swallowing. Students later had the opportunity to try some thickened liquids and the reviews were very mixed!
By: Madison Silverthorne, UofT SLP alumni, Co-chair of SLP EDI Committee
On July 9, 2025, faculty in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), together with current SLP students, members of the clinical community, and with the support of the U of T SLP EDI Committee, hosted over 100 high school students as part of the 2025 Summer Mentorship Program (SMP), hosted by various departments across the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
The Summer Mentorship Program was founded in 1994 by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and the Toronto District School Board, in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in the Health Sciences. The SMP is a four-week program that provides Black and Indigenous high school students with the opportunity to strengthen their academic skills and gain experience in the university environment. A key focus of the program is to encourage and support students to pursue post-secondary education in health care fields, including speech-language pathology.
Year 1 student Sneha Patel and SLP Maya Elia dive into all things speech — covering articulation, motor speech, fluency, and voice.
This year’s SLP session began with a short introduction to the profession and to U of T’s program by Dr. Monika Molnar, followed by presentations fro
m SLPs Asha Shelton and Andrea Coke, who shared their academic and professional journeys, highlighting both challenges and opportunities along the way. Students th
en participated in a series of interactive small-group activities led by researchers and clinicians who specialize in various aspects of the field, including child language, adult language, speech, swallowing disorders, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
The students in the 2025 cohort were engaged and curious, asked many thoughtful questions, and contributed to lively discussions about speech, language, and the SLP profession throughout the day. For Asha Shelton, one of our mentors and a graduate of both the SMP and Master’s of SLP programs at UofT, this was a full-circle moment:
“SMP gave me access to spaces I wouldn’t have otherwise had. I met peers and mentors who still support me today. It built my confidence and helped me see myself in a healthcare profession.”
The SMP inspires students to pursue health care education and be a voice for change in their community and the Department of SLP welcomes anyone interested in participating in future years to reach out and get involved: uoftslp.edi@gmail.com
SMP students explore a high-tech AAC device. Their challenge: share a message with classmates using only the device!
Dr. Tina Simic and SLP Asha Shelton teach all about the brain and explore when and why adults might experience language difficulties.
SMP students explore an eye-gaze AAC device, generously lent by SLP Loralee MacLean with the TRI Bickle Centre. They were amazed to write messages using just their eyes!