Fair inspires Black students to pursue academic excellence [Video]

Hundreds of students from around Waterloo Region took part in the inaugural “Black Brilliance Pathways to Post-Secondary Fair” on Friday.

The event aimed to encourage students to chase their dreams and combat a trend of lower post-secondary education enrolment among Black students.

Grade 12 student Liya Korbu has dreams of becoming a criminal lawyer. She said she was shocked to learn how many pathways were available to her.

“I did not know that there’s this amount of support for Black students and it’s made me feel more comfortable and more excited to apply for university and to explore what I want to do in the future,” Korbu said.

The fair was designed to highlight options in academia.

“Very often people were more eager to talk about their athletic abilities than their academic promise. An event like this really empowers a youth to become aware of the opportunities that there are and to take advantage of them,” Maedith Radlein, Waterloo …