Centennial faculty member Tanya Domize is a fierce advocate for her students.
She knows that investing in their success – as a teacher, as an ally and as a donor – can mean the difference between staying in school and giving it all up.
She knows because she’s been there. When she was a student at Centennial, it was a professor who helped her find her path forward.
“There was a faculty member I would often see in the parking lot, and he started asking me about my life,” she says. “Not in a nosy way, but with a lot of compassion.”
After learning her story, the professor gave Tanya information about the different scholarships and bursaries that may be available to help her. It was at that moment she realized she might be able to manage what was starting to feel impossible: being a full-time student and a full-time single mother to two young children.
“Before that conversation, I would find myself sitting in class filled with anxiety,” she says. “But receiving bursary and scholarship support gave me the stability I needed to attend school while providing for my family – and the chance to make something of myself.”
Determination to overcome
A Scarborough native and the daughter of a single mother herself, Tanya had her first child at 18 just as she was finishing high school. After giving birth to her son at 23, she knew it was time to make a change to give her kids a better future.
Her first step was to enrol in Centennial’s one-year liberal arts certificate program. She went on to complete an undergraduate degree in political science at York University before returning to Centennial to attend the paralegal graduate certificate program.
“Going back to Centennial was like returning to my family,” she says. “I had been through so much with them and it felt like a natural next step.”
After graduating from Centennial for the second time, Tanya immediately started working at the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General as a victim/witness advocate with a special focus on sex trafficking, homicides and domestic violence. But two years ago, she found herself drawn back to the Centennial community and took on a full-time role as a professor and legal program coordinator with The Business School.
“Centennial’s strong sense of community inspired me to come back and join the faculty,” she says. “It sets the school apart from so many other institutions.”
Today, Tanya is committed to doing everything within her power to help her students succeed – including making sure they have enough to eat.
Knowing that many students struggle to afford their next meal, every month or so – when in-person learning is in session – Tanya brings coffee and baked goods to her classes.
“What may just be $40 to me might mean the world to my students,” she says. “Many students will ask if they can bring any leftovers to their kids or spouses. I know what food insecurity feels like, and I think showing a little compassion goes a long way toward making the world a better place.”
From scholarship recipient to scholarship donor
But Tanya knows that financial support is the ultimate way to support students in need. That’s why Tanya and her mom – who received her food handling certificate from Centennial – decided to establish a scholarship for students who may be struggling to get by.
The Veleta Samuels-Jackson Scholarship, named after Tanya’s mom, supports students in their second or third year of a program within The Business School who have demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting their community.
While the scholarship is maintained through Tanya’s regular payroll contributions, continuing to build up the fund has become something of a passion project for Veleta.
“My mom is always looking for ways to make the scholarship bigger!” says Tanya. “She’ll ask members of our church and community to support it and encourage them to rally around students working toward their goals.”
Tanya wants others interested in scholarship giving to know that wealth isn’t a requirement for making a difference.
“So many people think philanthropy means giving large amounts of money,” she says. “But every dollar makes a difference, and it’s absolutely possible to create a scholarship with what you’re able to give and what you’re able to raise from your community.”
She also wants the world to know that scholarships create real, tangible impact for students – in her case, the difference of a lifetime.
“I know what the anxiety of financial instability feels like,” she says. “I know the incredible feeling of having the support you need to make it through. And now I know the pure joy of being in a position to give back.”
To learn more about how you can make a gift and support Centennial students, please contact giving@centennialcollege.ca.