#SenecaProud

Pat Perdue  00:00

Hey I'm Pat Perdue and I'd like to welcome you to season four of the Seneca Proud podcast. Okay, so COVID isn't quite a thing of the past but it's going to be. And that's great news. Because we've got our sights set on an amazing future. And I hope you do too. Students will be returning to classes, little by little. Classes will be offered in a more inclusive way using leading edge technologies. And we're getting set for an incredibly bright, inclusive, equitable future. And the future is what Seneca Proud season four is all about. Everything from the near-term future of life at Seneca College in a post-pandemic world, it's going to be pretty great, to what life after Seneca means. And hey, if you're a student, I get that life after Seneca is something that's on your mind. What are you going to do? Are you going to measure up to the competition? And what can you do today to really set yourself up to succeed? To help with those questions, this season includes graduated Seneca students who have been out there doing their thing for at least a few years. We'll hear their ups and their downs, and what you can do to help set yourself up for success. So if you haven't already, subscribe and download. And join me as we consider the future and meet the people who are transforming dreams into reality. Because the next episode of Seneca Proud starts now. 

Welcome back to the Seneca proud Podcast. I'm Pat Perdue, and I'm so glad you're here today. It's a new year, it's a new semester and a new episode. Awesome. So how was your break? I'm hoping you took some time for yourself and reconnected to the things that you like doing, but maybe you don't make so much time for. In my case that would be scrolling through Instagram, looking for videos of talking Huskies. And I also like to take this time of year to be intentional about the year that has passed and the year that lies ahead. And also consider some goals for the new year. Not really resolutions, but more like outcomes. One of the outcomes I was hoping for by the end of 2021 was to have deepened my understanding of people whose life experience is different from my own. So throughout the year, I've been following Instagram accounts, watching movies, and reading books and articles created from perspectives that are different from my own. How am I doing? Well, let's say I have a lot of work to do. And I'm hoping that realization, in itself, is some kind of progress. And this brings us to our guest today. Part of the theme of this season of Seneca proud is to feature former students of Seneca College who are out there living their life. In this episode we have Seneca graduate Eunice Kays Yeboah, but why does my being intentional about my new year tie into today's episode? What you'll find with Eunice and the same with our earlier guest, Joseph Osei Bonsu, who was a former student, is that she's a super high achiever. And one personality trait that really seems to define her is intentionality. So for those wondering about crafting a life after your time as a Seneca student, this is a show you'll want to pay close attention to. Let me tell you more about our guest. Obviously Eunice Kays Yeboah is a graduate of Seneca College and Eunice is the co founder of the Toronto Black Policy Conference, and co founder and executive director of the Canadian Back Policy Network. She's also the Anti-racism Policy Consultant at the Toronto Transit Commission. Eunice is very passionate about confronting anti-black racism, and all forms of racism and discrimination. In her extended work in government and public policy, she has spent over five years in a variety of roles with municipalities and the province of Ontario, recognized for outstanding early career success and impactful volunteerism. Eunice was recently selected as part of York University's inaugural top 30 changemakers under 30 list and received the inaugural AIPAC Toronto Region New Professional Award. As I mentioned, Eunice is a Seneca graduate and alumna of the Liberal Arts University Transfer Program at Seneca College, York University's faculty of liberal arts and Professional Studies and University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. We join our conversation with Eunice talking about her time specifically at Seneca College and the surprising ways that experience challenged her and propelled her into becoming the person she is today. Okay, here's my conversation with Seneca graduate and so much more, as you'll hear, Eunice Kays Yeboah.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  04:47

I actually had no intention of going to college. My intention was to go right into university.  You know, being part of the African culture, broadly black culture Ghanaian culture, you know, wasn't something that a lot of older generations considered to be enough or good enough. But I actually wanted to change that narrative. And so when I decided to go to Seneca College and you know, get a diploma in liberal arts, I had no idea what that would look like, I had no idea that I would meet such great professors that would push me out of my comfort zone. I had no idea that I'd be taking courses that would later influence my decision to get into the policy field. And so looking back at my time at Seneca, I can really say that it was really a stepping stone into university, into getting my degree, into getting my master's degree. And I think even more broadly, just sort of creating a different version of myself. And it's not to say that I'm two different people. But obviously, we change and we evolve over time. And I think my experience at Seneca College really became that important factor that helped me launch into the career, into the life, into the profession, that I'm in right now, I often talk about this experience: You know, I used to be a really, really shy student, just want to kind of sit in the back, I don't want to talk about my ideas. If a professor or a teacher, even in an elementary school had a question that I knew the answer to always thought that I don't want to say the answer. And then if it's a wrong response. I don't want people to think well, what is she talking about? And so I kind of carried that into my Seneca experience. But it wasn't until I took a specific class with a specific professor and I still remember his name to this day, where he was very, very intentional about pushing students out of their comfort zone. And so I thought to myself, Okay, this is an opportunity because prior to joining Seneca College, I had a lot of people saying, “Oh, you're so quiet, I don't really see you in a public public facing or job or career that requires public speaking.”  And so I really wanted to change that narrative for myself. So when I got to Seneca College, I thought it would be a great experience; it'd be a great idea to push myself out of that comfort zone. And out of that shell. And so I started to sit at the front of the class and move from the back. I sat at the front, knowing that this specific professor would always call me out to say something and even though you know, my head will get hot, I started to kind of like shake or my hands will start to sweat, I always thought that, you know, being uncomfortable, putting myself in these uncomfortable situations now would reap extremely important benefits down the line. And so I kind of took the hit at the time, I would say, and sat at the front of the class answered questions, even if the answer wasn't correct, I still decided to continue to do that, so that I could, you know, get out of that comfort zone. And that has really benefited me throughout my further education in my career. So that's one thing I would definitely say.

 

Pat Perdue  07:52

So interesting. And do you want to give a shout out to that Professor?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  07:55

Yes. Is Professor Smith.  I don't know if he's still at Seneca though. But he's a really, really great professor. I know, a lot of students that had very interesting experiences with him. And you know, just remembering sitting down in his office, getting to know about his research interests, understanding why he taught the way he did, why he pushed students the way he did, really helped me to understand his perspective and to challenge myself as well. 

 

Pat Perdue  08:19

And I love that story. For a lot of reasons. One of the reasons I love that story is, is you know, you started off pretty shy.  It sounds like you started off pretty shy, and then pushing yourself, sitting at the front of the class. And this was all while you're, while you were at Seneca.  Is that right?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  08:36

Oh, that's Seneca.  Shout out to Seneca for that. Yeah.

 

Pat Perdue  08:41

And you mentioned that at first, you didn't really see yourself going to college. So, what prompted you to choose a college and Seneca?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  08:48

Yeah, so my motivation, the way I am really is, I don't really think about proving people wrong. I like to prove myself, right. That's how I look at it. And so, you know, over the years, as I mentioned, I had been told that I don't really see working in a position that requires you to public speak, and then even taking it back to, to my high school days. I remember my counselor was really trying to stream me into applied courses. And my parents are very tough. So they said no, I said no.  My sister said no.  We all said no. So, we pushed back on that. So, I ended up taking all academic courses, but I still wanted to prove to myself.  And also, at this point, I wanted to prove to my Ghanaian community that going to college is just as great as a university degree. And it doesn't, you know… Going to university doesn't necessarily set you up for any greater success than somebody who went to college.  And so I decided, you know, I want to pursue the college route. I went to college, did the one-and-a-half year program, and then ended up where I am now. And so even looking back now, a lot of people are like, wow, like you actually went to college. And this is something that is a legitimate route. And so, I've started to see within my community, that a lot of Ghanaian parents that are to open up more about the option of going to college. And so I think that's very, very rewarding for me, and also for other students to actually know that you can go to college and do just as well or even better. And so that was really the message. 

 

 

Pat Perdue  10:17

College can be great. Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so you were at Seneca for a year and a half. But your educational journey didn't stop there.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  10:25

No. (laughter)

 

Pat Perdue  10:29

Not even close. That's hilarious. So, what did you do then?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  10:33

So after that, I decided that I wanted to continue and go to York University. And I remember just, you know, making that decision that, Okay, it's time for me to take the next step. And I'm somebody… I should preface this actually, by saying that I'm somebody who's big on education.  If you could pay me to go to school for the rest of my life, I will do it. So I just want to put that out there just so that we clear the air on that. But I was, yeah, I was really ready to go to university. I thought that, you know, especially having completed the program at Seneca I was like, I'm ready for university, I'm going into York.  I'm not going to be a number.  I'm going to meet all my professors.  I'm not going to just be one out of 500 students in a lecture hall.  I'm going to make sure that my professors know my name and remember me even after I leave the school.  And so after I finished Seneca, I decided to go to university for Business and Society. And then throughout that educational experience about in my third year, I started to gain an interest in terms of how governments regulate businesses. So, I was taking a degree program called Business and Society at York University. And I was learning a lot about red tape.  Policy was mentioned here. And the law was mentioned here and there. And so I thought, Hey, what's this policy thing about? So, I decided to continue. While I was doing my degree program at York University, I decided to do a professional certificate in Public Administration and Law. And that's when my professor actually flagged to me. And it's actually an interesting story. I remember writing my final exam, in that 3rd-year course. And my professor wrote in my book, “You should really consider a career in the public sector and public policy or public administration.” And so long story short, I ended up applying to University of Toronto, and got into the Master of Public Policy Program at the Munk School, and the rest is really history. And I'm just stopping there. 

 

Pat Perdue  12:29

So, that was an impactful note that the professor left on your, what was it, in an exam answer or something like that, exam for public policy? That wasn't something that you had always intended to go in. Was that a surprise direction for you? Or how did, how did that all work?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  12:44

Yeah, absolutely had no intention.  A lot of things I had no intention to do. But it ended up actually being intentional, which is really interesting. But I, I was planning on finishing Seneca, getting ready to do my degree, actually, in human resources. And then my Seneca professor actually directed me to the program at York to do the social science program. So that's actually really interesting. And so when I got to York, I was ready, you know, to write my LSAT, to go to Osgoode, or to go to U of T law school. And that didn't happen. So I had no idea what Policy was.  I really had no idea what public administration was. I had been working, you know, for different municipalities for a couple years, but I didn't really understand the administrative side of things, or I wasn't exposed to that side. I was more so exposed to the customer service side of things. And so when my professor wrote that note, on my booklet, I was like, ‘Why is he trying to redirect me out of the path that I've already created? Or I'm intending to create for myself?’  Like, I have no idea what the public sector really is about. I really have no idea about policy. I'm not interested. I don't care about it. But when I actually took the time to sit down and speak to him, I prayed about it. I spoke to my parents, I spoke to my sister, I spoke to my now husband at the time, and I asked them, What is your opinion? What do you think about this? This is a recommendation that I got from my professor at York. And the first time I got a recommendation from my professor at Seneca it ended up working out, so what do you think about it? And so long story short, I ended up actually going with that recommendation. And I'm here, so it actually ended up working out really great for me, I would say.

 

Pat Perdue  14:31

Nice, nice. And there's a ton to unpack from the last couple of comments that you made. One thing I'd like to ask you about. You mentioned intentionality. And, you know, your story at Seneca.  You decided, ‘I'm going to sit at the front of the class, and I'm, I'm gonna get out of my comfort zone.’ And then when you went to York, you're like, ‘Okay, it's a huge school. I'm not going to be just, you know, somebody who drifts in out of classes. I want people to know me, I want my professors to know me.’  Were you always that intentional, even from your day-to-day life?   That's so much more intentional, than this is the kind of degree I want. This is how I'm going to how I'm going to function from one day to the next.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  15:16

Yeah, I think I definitely have been like, I'm a very meticulous thinker. I would even, I even think maybe five, six years ago, I would consider myself an overthinker. So just thinking a little bit too much. And I'm not really a planner. So I wouldn't say I'm type A per se, I don't really plan every single detail of my life. But I definitely make decisions with a lot of intention. So how is it gonna affect the people around me? How is it gonna affect me? How's it gonna affect future generations? And I know sometimes that sounds like a very sort of broad and big massive way to think, but I definitely don't think about just my present. I like to think about things with a future focus, right? And so how my decision to go to college can affect my community and their perspective on what colleges? How was me going to university and being the first in my, you know, family to get a degree going to affect generations? How are we potentially going, furthering my education and getting a PhD going to inspire my children or inspire future generations, right?  And so, I definitely do things with a lot of intention. I also want to say, though, that I leave a lot of things in the hands of God. So one thing that I'm always going to talk about is my faith, because I think this conversation really has no backbone if I don't speak to those elements. And so really, even as intentional as I might have been, you know, 10 years ago, I still think that my faith in God plays a really big role. Because even in the situation where I didn't really know what to do after high school.  Do I want to go to law school right away? Do I want to go to college right away? Like, what do I want to do?  Want to take a year off?  I still dedicated everything and committed everything into the hands of God.  Committed everything into His hands and asked for direction, right?  And I think that's a very key part of my journey. So it's not something that I would leave out.

 

Pat Perdue  17:09

No, I'm super, super glad that you brought that up. Because, you know, there's future Eunice's listening to this podcast right now. Like they're in Seneca College, or maybe they're in different colleges or different universities. And they look at you and your example. And they're like, ‘Well, I want to be like her.’

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  17:26

Be better. Better be better than me.  Better than me.

 

Pat Perdue  17:31

Nice. Nice. So what guidance would you have for them? In addition to being intentional?  Sounds like that, if you were going to write a book, like, Five Ways to be Like Eunice, that might be one of them. What would be some others?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  17:45

Yeah, I would definitely say, be your authentic self.  Be yourself in any room that you step into. And I know that is difficult. So, I'm not saying this, just to say it, but it's something that I had to learn along my journey as well. I can really remember taking it back to my internship when I was doing my internship at the City of Toronto, and literally being the youngest person, the only Black person in the room, and sitting around a table of 10 plus directors, right?  And feeling a sense of, I don't know, ‘Do I really belong in this room? Are they really going to take what I see serious? I'm still getting my master's degree, I haven't obtained it yet. Are they actually going to take my recommendation serious.’ But one thing that always stuck out to me and something that has always led my decisions is for me to be myself. So, anybody that you talk to, if you talk to my managers, you talk to my previous coworkers, they'll tell you that Eunice will come to work.  She'll make jokes, but she'll be serious when she needs to be serious. She'll be herself, she won't hide it. If she has an opinion. If she thinks something isn't right, or something is wrong, she'll say it. So, I know, like I said, that's very difficult. But I think being your authentic self really draws people to you naturally. So you don't necessarily have to put on a facade to make people like you or to make people listen, or to make people take what you're saying seriously, if you are yourself, people will be naturally drawn to that light. And I think the second thing that I would say too, is, you know, I often like to talk about discovering your purpose. I know again, this could be a topic that could get really deep and I'm not trying to go too deep on this podcast, but I think one thing that's really important is knowing what your purpose is. So how I look at life is God is creating this masterpiece, this master painting that happens to have trillions of many are different puzzle pieces that all come together to make this beautiful image. And so I want to understand what is my puzzle piece in this master artwork, right? And so, once I understand what that puzzle piece is, I now know how to navigate my surroundings, navigate my environment, navigate my world, etc. And so I think one thing that's important is to know your purpose, and also to find your purpose in the things that people tell you you can't do. So what do I mean by that? Somebody told me that they don't see me in a position where I am public speaking. And so I thought to myself, ‘Is that really who I am?’ It's even beyond the fact that somebody sees me in this way. But is that who I am?  And so, I found a way to just, you know, find ways to build skills, communication skills, public speaking skills.  Again, putting myself in those uncomfortable situations, standing in front of a class, standing in front of a church, standing in front of a service, finding these ways, practicing with friends, etc. And so, I would say, definitely find your purpose, or look for your purpose and things that people tell you, you can't do. Because you never know what you can discover. And you can actually discover your purpose in things that people tell you you could never accomplish. And that's what I did. So that's what I would encourage you to do. And lastly, find a mentor who could be real with you who could pour into you, and who can do things from a place of love. So even if you aren't the strongest public speaker, or you weren't the strongest critical thinker, find somebody who can actually tune up those skills, who can sharpen you in a way that will take you beyond your potential. And that's why I say be better than me,

 

Pat Perdue  21:21

There's a lot that we can unpack from, from those points that you delivered. One thing I do want to mention, I really like the analogy of the puzzle piece. Because that suggests even an obligation to be that piece. So the other pieces can fit as well.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  21:39

1,000% love it.

 

Pat Perdue  21:41

That's really, really cool. So there's a couple of things I still want to get to, I want to get to you touched on mentors and people in your life, your support group.  You know, you’re a high achiever. There's no doubt about that, right? So, for the other potential high achievers that are listening to this.  How important would you say, in addition to your faith, how important would you say is your support group? You know, you mentioned your parents, you mentioned your, at the time, fiancé, who's now your husband.  You mentioned, maybe some other teachers.  How important is a support group for you, in helping you go forward?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  22:20

Yeah, I think a support group is very important. And I understand that everybody has a different circumstance, not everybody has a family, or friend, or just a listening ear to turn to. So I would definitely say, like, start with one person that you can trust, right? And I always like to see if somebody has any questions, or they want to pick my brain, I have an open-door policy.  You can reach out to me, I'm happy to listen, I'm happy to help as much as I can, at least. But I definitely think that the support system is really important. It's almost like your backbone, right, or almost like your foundation, from which you blossom, right?  And so I think that when you have a family member, or you have friends that pour into you, or in other words, you know, water, that seed that you've planted, and are the nutrients from the sun, that shine on that seed that you've planted, you're able to blossom, I think more beautifully. And one thing that I've also noticed with my support system is they're also like weed pullers. That's something I would even call them. So if they see that, you know, I'm surrounding myself with, you know, a particular situation, environment, person, whatever that looks like, that isn't good for me, or will benefit me or that might try to stop my growth, they actually will be those ones to flag it to me and pull out those weeds, or they'll alert me or flag to me that I need to pull up those weeds. And so, I think that when it comes to having somebody who's even just a listening ear, if you can start with just one person, even if it's your professor, that's one of the places where I had to start in terms of my educational journey.  I had to trust my professor Wilkins at York University, right?  And also listen to his advice, and listen to his perspective, and listen to how he also saw me and my potential. And so, like I said, I know that everybody comes from a different family.  Everybody comes from a different background. But if you can start with that one person, even if it's your professor, even if it's your teaching assistant, even if it's your colleague, your peer, you can start with that one person who can help you get to that next level that you need to get to.

 

Pat Perdue  24:25

Great advice. So let's talk about today, where you are today, because we've been talking about all of the journey that led you to your roles today. And you have some super interesting roles. One of them is the co-founder of the Toronto Black Policy Conference, and also the Canadian Black Policy Network. Can you spend a couple of minutes of speaking to those organizations?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  24:51

Yeah, absolutely. So those organizations actually came out of my time at U of T. So, I did not want to go to U of T for my master's degree, I wanted to go to York University and continue from there. But I ended up, you know, I kind of bet on myself and I said, ‘If I can get into U of T on the first round, I'll go. But if I don't, if I get a second round offer, I'm not going to go,’ and then a few days later ended up getting in on the first round. So I knew that there was something for me to do. And I always thought to myself, you know, as I enter this new institution, I know that I'm going to be one of the minorities, I would say, or racial minorities. And so, when I started the program, I was one of four Black students in my cohort. But I always wanted to make an impact, because I still wanted there to be a space created for other Black students or other students that were coming into the program that didn't really think that they'd be visible or have a voice. And so, in 2018, one of my colleagues by the name of Anna-Kay Russell, so shout out to Anna-Kay.  She started a collaboration with another student who discovered a blog policy conference at Harvard, and they started a collaboration and then the next year, there was an international panel. And so when we went to Harvard in 2018, myself, Anna-Kay and Sharnelle, who are also co-founders of both organizations, thought to ourselves, why don't we have these conversations, a space, a network, in Canada, in Toronto, and so we started planning in 2018, brought the idea to the city of Toronto; they loved it.  We put on our first conference in 2019.  We had an extremely good turnout with over 300 people joining virtually and in person. And what we really tried to achieve with the Toronto Black Policy Conference is really to create a space where policy discussions that are affecting, or policy issues, rather, that are affecting Black communities in Toronto cannot only be discussed, but we can actually get to tangible, sustainable solutions to resolve these issues. And so we have these conversations with policy professionals, people who are in different spaces like economics, mental health, etc,, politics. And so we actually just had our conference last Saturday. So our second conference, which was completely virtual, as well, and a lot of the conversations that we have speak to what are the tangible things that we can do to improve the situation of Black community members and ensure that they're also able to contribute to society and also their well-being, like speaking about their well-being and ensuring that we're meeting the needs of Black communities, and then the network out of the 2019 Black Policy Conference, we created the Canadian Black Policy Network to actually have these conversations across the country, and to actually create a network of Black policy professionals and allies and supporters who don't identify as Black who can engage in these conversations and in these resolutions, and there was a group out in Atlantic Canada that had their conference in October actually called the Atlantic Canada Black Policy Conference. So we're definitely seeing change happening, slow but sure. But that's essentially the work that we're doing. Right,

 

Pat Perdue  28:11

Amazing. And are there places online where people can go and learn more about both of those organizations?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  28:16

Absolutely. So you can go to our website, www.cbpn.ca. And all our social media handles are on there as well. So you can just search Canadian Black Policy Network, and everything shall come up on Google

 

Pat Perdue  28:31

Perfect, I will absolutely leave links to those in the show notes. And also just a little observation, you're like, you know, ‘I didn't really intend to go into policy, I'm gonna go into policy.’ And then this is what you do. When you go, you go into policy, like, that's awesome. That's awesome. So are you at liberty to share any insights that came out of the conference just last week?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  29:00

Well, I can give a bit of a sneak peek. But we did have conversations around mental health and well-being. So our theme was reset, rebuild, recover, reimagining the future of Black communities. And so we really spoke to economic impacts or economic investments that have been made by all three levels of government. So federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal. We also spoke to Toronto's housing crisis. So, talking about affordable housing, but not just in the rental market. We also touched on buying right? So purchasing a home.  And we so we had many different topics that we were speaking to.  And so we actually will be coming out with a report that will sort of put all this information together. And so, we'll be happy to share that once that is ready, but that's a bit of a sneak peek of the conversations.  And we had MPP Laura Mae Lindo, who was speaking to Black youth, have Black communities being involved in the political process.  We had Kema Joseph who used to work with Mayor John Tory's office.  We had a lot of great speakers that joined the events and lots of insights coming out of that. So, we'll be happy to share that once the report is finalized.

 

Pat Perdue  30:14

Nice. Looking forward to that. And let's talk about your day job. You know, the, the Anti racism Policy Consultant (It sounds huge) at the TTC.  Can you walk me through a day in the life of, of what that role entails?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  30:32

Yeah, I think that role is a very interesting role. And your question is even more interesting because I think that walking, you know, through a day in a life of Eunice as an anti-racism policy consultant is a little bit difficult, because every day looks different. But I would say overall, given the fact that this is a newly created position, in a newly created office, the Racial Equity Office, in a newly created department, the Diversity Department, there's a lot of moving pieces.  But what my work really focuses on is, you know, drafting, leading, and working together with a team actually to lead the TTC five year anti-racism strategy, as well as focusing on different policy implications, development of different policies in every area. So as it relates to human resources, as it relates to talent management recruitment, as it relates to procurement. So I've been doing a lot of work on procurement, as well as talent management. And so obviously, I won't get into the specifics of the work until that work is actually made public. But a lot of my portfolio is actually focusing on things that I didn't really expect to do. So, for example, procurement, I think, has definitely been an interesting learning experience that I'm enjoying. But I think it's really important because as an organization, we are, I would say, a key focus of the city's demographic and just the culture of Toronto, a lot of people depend on the TTC in and outside of the city. And so just being able to ensure that we're providing opportunities for various, you know, organizations and groups to be able to work on projects with the TTC, I think, is fundamental. And so every day looks different. But every day is interesting, every day is different, every day is new, but it's enjoyable as well.

 

Pat Perdue  32:33

I'm glad you said it's enjoyable, because yeah, in listening to you describe your role, and your role with the Toronto Black Policy Conference and, and the Canadian Black Policy Network, all super great, impactful, and potentially exhausting roles and tasks. So, you know, how do you, how do you manage?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  32:58

Yeah, I think it's important to have an anchor. And I think that's one thing that I've really had time to think about these past few weeks is the importance of having an anchor. So whether that looks like a support system, whether that looks like taking time away, to just decompress and breathe, inhale, exhale, take a trip. Whatever that looks like just having that anchor. For me, I like to read. Although I don't get as much reading as I'd like to these days. I also like to sew.  So for me sewing is very therapeutic.  Actually taught myself how to sew after deciding not to go to school for fashion design. So, I try to do things like that. But I think that for me, in all honesty, this work is very exhausting. And I had a really stark reality check. Maybe a couple months ago, where I was like, okay, during my nine-to-five, I'm doing anti-racism work. From five to 12. I'm doing anti-racism work, anti-black racism, like anti-indigenous racism at work.  Like it be, it started to become a lot. And then after that, I do a lot of other volunteer work, right? And I help people with resume writing, other career building activities, and so it just became a lot. And I started to feel like I was just being sort of over-accessed, if that's even a word, but I felt like a lot of people and a lot of organizations just had too much access to me where I didn't have time to actually enjoy, like my private life. And so, I just had to be real with myself and say, ‘Hey, you need to just take some time away. And you need to just take some time to relax and to decompress.” Because I've said this before. I said this at the beginning of my new job.  But the reality is as a Black woman, I can’t strip myself from my identity. So, although you know I could be working on this work from my nine to five, etc. You know, if I wasn't a black woman, possibly I could kind of forget about the work I just focused on my private life.  But my work life and my private life merge, just because that's my identity, right?  And so a part of my identity. And so that's the reality that I had to face. And I had to also face the fact that, you know, when you're feeling overwhelmed, just take time off, because I'm not used to taking time off. I'm the kind of person that will just go go, go, go, go, go, go, because I don't want to let people down, or I don't want to stop driving the vehicle. But I had to really realize that hey, Eunice, you need to pause to refill your tank, and then you can continue. You can't just keep on running on E. So yeah, that was my reality check.

 

Pat Perdue  35:38

Sounds like a big learning. And of course, you know, you have to sharpen the saw, you know.  You have to fill the tank, so that you're driving, right?  So, you mentioned at the top of our conversation, you love education, maybe even get a PhD? What would you get a PhD in?

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  35:58

It's a great question. And then people asked me that question all the time. And I often say, I don't know. But I am leaning towards political science. And I, a lot of my friends get surprised at that response, because they don't really see me doing that, even though they know, I am interested in politics. But I, I don't know if I can actually give an answer to that. But I am leaning towards political science. But I also do have an interest in Organizational Psychology. So that would be really interesting. But then that might require me going back to school in terms of getting, doing different courses at the BA level. So I'm not too sure yet. But I think that'd be really interesting as well. 

 

Pat Perdue  36:38

It's all interesting. And your professional direction, how long have you had this role at the TTC? 

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  36:45

Ah, it's been since March. So just a few months, seven months, I think?

 

Pat Perdue  36:49

So, it's super new. Are you able to see over the horizon to professionally where this role leads you? Or is that simply not part of your thinking process at this point? 

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  37:02

I do like to think about, you know, what does the next five years look like at a specific organization, I don't know where this role is going to take me. I would be glad to be in a leadership, in another leadership role within the TTC. But I also think that this job, and this role also opens up opportunities, coupled with my work at the CBPN opens up different opportunities outside of the organization. So while I'd be happy to, you know, be in a leadership role, whether that looks like manager, director, in the next five years, I'm definitely open to that. But I'm also open to working in, getting experience in the private sector, I think would be really neat as well, bringing that public sector experience into that space, and possibly then coming back into the public sector or starting my own stuff.

 

Pat Perdue  37:52

Who knows? Who knows,

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  37:54

But it's been nine months actually.  Miscalculated that.  It's been nine months,

 

Pat Perdue  37:57

Okay. And one last question, if I may.  You know, we talked about how you are in the thick of it, and you're in the thick of it all the time. Do you ever find, are you leaning toward things are getting better? Are you leaning towards, ‘I'm banging my head against the wall? Because it's not changing?’ Where do you see the big picture direction going, in terms of, of course, I'm speaking in terms of racism.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  38:25

Yeah. I, I would say, I don't know if I can actually say things are changing. It's a good question. I think things are moving. I think things are moving in the right direction. Are they completely changing? And I know, you're not asking if they're completely changing, because of course, that's gonna take time. But I don't know if things are changing, per se. I think things have changed. I think that with the reality that everybody was confronted with last spring, that, you know, a lot of people came to the realization that okay, like, this is not just a group of people that are complaining, because a lot of the sentiments that I used to hear prior to, you know, the racial unrest that happened again last year, because this is the reality is this has been happening for years. But a lot of the sentiments that I used to actually hear were things like, “Oh, you know, Black people, Indigenous people are just complaining, you got to get over it. There's no racism.  We don't need a Toronto Black Policy Conference. We don't need to have these conversations. There’s no issues in Canada, were multicultural.” And I've always looked at those comments kind of with a side eye because even from my elementary school days, I always saw that there was a gap, and there was something wrong in the curriculum. So I knew that those comments were unfounded. But I definitely would say that even with our current Prime Minister, I think that there's definitely been more funds, I would say, dedicated to Black communities, and the betterment of Black communities.  But I don't know, if things are changing. And maybe that's just me thinking that I think things could be further along than they are right now. But I do appreciate the fact that there is work being done. I do appreciate the fact that organizations are dedicating to doing this work. And I do appreciate the fact that governments are actually leading the charge, for the most part, on this work. And so, you know, I would say, I would actually maybe recap some of my statements and say that things are changing, maybe not at the pace that I would like them to change. They're moving, and they're moving in the right direction. But I think that there's definitely more work that needs to be done, for sure. Yeah.

 

Pat Perdue  40:36

Well, thanks for all the work that you do.  You give and give and give. So, thank you for that. And, of course, thank you for being on the podcast. It's been a really great pleasure getting to meet you and speaking with you.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  40:52

My pleasure. My pleasure. Thank you. Maybe we'll have to have a part two.

 

Pat Perdue  40:56

I think, well, you know, I would love to find out what, you know, what the results of your conference and check back in a year. That sounds kind of cool.

 

Eunice Kays Yeboah  41:05

Absolutely. Thanks that I appreciate it.

 

Pat Perdue  41:07

Thank you. Bye. 

And that was my conversation with Eunice Kays Yeboah. So much to unpack there. There's a lot that stood out for me in speaking with her. One of the things that comes to mind is the intentionality she brings to so much in her life. And it's pretty clear that her intentionality continues to deliver some pretty significant results, as well. The value of having a support network, a community of people around you, whose opinions you trust.  And finding that community can be really difficult, and doesn't happen overnight. But it might be someone like a teacher at school, or last episode we talked about the SMILE Mentoring Program at Seneca. Lots to consider. I'm super grateful to Eunice for setting aside some time to join us on the pod. I can't think of a better way to start 2022.  And thank you for joining us as well. We will see you next time. I'm Pat Perdue. Stay proud Seneca.