Jenny Sampirisi is a dream guest for the BLSA podcast. We could have invited her to speak to us about literature and creative writing, or about learning strategies, or about post-secondary teaching and program design, or about  accessibility and inclusion for students with disabilities, and she would be able to speak about each topic from a place of experience and expertise. She is a published and celebrated poet, an award-winning teacher, and is currently engaged in the unique role of Learning and Inclusion Education Developer at Toronto Metropolitan University, helping faculty to see and understand student needs with better clarity and compassion.

As you’ll quickly realize when you listen to our conversation, Jenny does that special thing that everyone swears they’ll do when they’re older, but rarely manage to achieve: she remembers what it is like to be younger. Of particular relevance to this episode, she remembers what it is like to be a young student in the process of deciding what to do after high school.

In this episode, you’ll hear Jenny talk about the often unacknowledged systemic barriers that face so many students as they make the difficult transition into post-secondary and adult life. She unpacks some parts of our hidden curriculums so that we can reckon with them in the light of day, and brings much needed attention to the invisible disabilities that so many live with, often in silent isolation. Her mission, her passion and her insights are deserving of attention and emulation, and we feel lucky to share a glimpse of them with you here.

Some topics and resources to listen for and take further:

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• Jenny Sampirisi
  
• “Three Steps on the Ladder of Writing” by Hélène Cixous
  
• TMU’s Spanning the Gaps program
  
• What is an Education Developer?
  
• TMU Policy 159: “A Shared Responsibility” – Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities
  
• “Nothing about us without us”
  
• The Hidden Curriculum
  
• Invisible Disabilities
  
• Niagara College – Health Wellness and Accessibility Service
  
• University of Guelph: Strategic Plan 2022-2027
  
• Universal Design for Learning
  

If you haven’t listened to our last episode click here