ONE STUDENT ' S JOURNEY TOWARD RECONCILIATION
Spring 2019 graduate Aysha Yaqoob ' s reconciliation journey included envisioning and orchestrating a charitable initiative called Pencils of Hope .
Aysha Yaqoob is no stranger to feelings of discomfort and dislocation . Born in Saudi Arabia and immigrating to Canada at the age of 2 with her parents , who were originally from Pakistan , Yaqoob ’ s early years were spent moving from place to place in the Greater Toronto Area . Then , in 2008 , her family moved to Saskatoon , where Aysha attended school from Grade 7 to 12 .
Attending 15 different schools during her K-12 years gave Aysha keen insight into feelings of marginality , which were amplified by being a visibly Muslim student . The lack of representation she saw in professional roles combined with her feelings of marginality sparked a desire in Aysha to work with marginal and at-risk youth , and influenced her decision to become an English teacher .
“ In high school I had a great group of English teachers , and they hung out in a nice pack . It was there where I saw how dedicated they were and how fun teaching could be , and I observed their interest in teaching us not only about Shakespeare and poetry , but also about real world problems . However , there were no teachers that looked like me ; all the teachers were White , and I wondered , ‘ If I feel this , other students must feel this as well .’”
University gave Aysha a sense of control over her learning : “ I had full autonomy of where I wanted to push my learning . I remember sitting in Mike Cappello ’ s ECS class , and seeing a White male talking so strongly about White privilege and what it means to oppress students of colour , and me being one of the very few students in our program who were of colour , and Muslim , visibly Muslim ; it felt weird to see someone saying the words I could relate to .” Aysha wanted to learn more about representation : “ After that , in every single class I took , I wanted to explore more into representation , and representing marginal and Indigenous students . All my profs were so willing to let me do assignments , I never had a prof who said you have to stick with my assignment . It was so great , I got to push my education and learning in areas that I was interested in . I was really able to shape my journey the way I wanted .”
These experiences changed how Aysha viewed education . She says , “ It made me see that there are teachers who are trying to change the system right now , and trying to make students of colour feel represented and welcome . It was so nice .”
Up to that point , Aysha says she had been quiet and shy , but feeling supported at University helped her find and use her voice . “ I remember that during the time when the Muslim ban was going on , I got up in front of my peers and let them know how I felt , how cornered and unsupported I felt . I invited them to a vigil at Victoria Park ... Even talking about this gives me goose bumps . Just seeing all of the support I had from my peers and colleagues and professors made me want to speak up about these issues all the more . Since then I ’ ve been a non-stop machine ; I don ’ t have an off button ,” she says .
In 2017 , as part of the Education Students ’ Society executive , Aysha organized a Professional Development event called Meet-a-Muslim . She says , “ I wanted to dispel misinformation about Muslims , so I invited everyone to come out and hear what it was like growing up Muslim , and about how the travel ban was affecting us . I wanted it to be an open safe space to ask questions and dialogue .” For people who are often misportrayed , Aysha explains “ My go-to is to just ask questions . I ’ d rather you ask a billion questions than just assume .” In her quest for how to go about designing the event , Drs . Jennifer Tupper and Mike Cappello advised her to have an open dialogue with a panel . In hindsight , Aysha is glad
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