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There will be pet therapy once a week, allowing students to have puppy cuddles and kisses. We will be able to play with them on soft fuzzy carpets and under warm skylights. Calming music will be playing in the background allowing for students to have a nice dozy afternoon. There will be no thoughts of assignments as this space will be a stress free zone. - Sam Young
Powerful music and activity will happen every day in the gym space at OCAD. Zumba and CrossFit will be strong ways of release for student’s frustrations. A smoothie bar will be available for healthy power drinks to boost creativity and energy. The gym will be open 24/7 just like the rest of OCAD and will have classes at least once a day. - Sam Young
Smells of healthy foods, roasted cauliflower, vegan pizza, kale chips fill the hallways where the kitchen is, where it is open for students to use to make food. There will be a shared community pantry, where you can give what you can and donate food or time in cleaning for shared use of the kitchen. The space is respectful and creative, students have access to healthy nutritional recipes and facilitators are there to help with cooking. There will be community meals as a result and a stronger sense of community through the power of the kitchen environment. - Sam Young
Artist Bio and Statement
My name is Samantha Young and I am a Drawing and Painting student at OCADU. I am interested in social-economic issues in my work and community engagement. I always want to create open discussions and raise awareness about issues in my environment. My engagement in the project was gathering overall data from the Health and Wellness Centre at OCADU, and trying to find where there are holes in their services. I created a PowerPoint that displayed this data and showed all the topics I explored. I wanted my discussions on these topics to be seen in a positive light which would encourage growth; that hopefully Health and Wellness would take action to make these missing aspects real and be able to provide such services to the students. This project informs my own work in communities, because it helps me ask “What more can we do? What is missing?” As a result, I am trying to make strides to get answers to these questions and achieve results. In my community work, I apply these thoughts every time I lead an activity, as there are always ways for improvement and new discoveries possible towards future teaching.