TYP changed my life: Why more people need to know this program exists

I was 44 years old when I became a first-year university student, not because I lacked ability, or ambition, but because I didn’t know doors like that were meant for people like me. That changed when I discovered the Transitional Year Programme (TYP) at the University of Toronto.

TYP reopened my heart to possibility. It allowed me to dream again, and more importantly, the tools to make those dreams real for myself, my family, and my community. I’m sharing this story because many people, especially in the Caribbean diaspora, still don’t know this life-changing program exists, and they deserve to.

The Transitional Year Programme is a full-time, eight-month university access program designed for adults who couldn’t pursue postsecondary education due to life circumstances like: poverty, trauma, caregiving, or systemic discrimination. TYP is not just an academic program. It is a healing space. It was created in 1970, following calls from: Black, Indigenous, and working-class students who demanded access to the university system. It was built for us; people with untold stories and interrupted paths.

I left high school in Grade 11. Life moved quickly. I became a mom, a breadwinner, and a caregiver. I gave everything to everyone else and forgot I still had dreams, too. I worked in corporate and government spaces for years, grinding just to survive. I always felt I had more to give, but didn’t know how to begin again. That changed when I found TYP.

Walking into my first classroom, I was anxious. I was the oldest in the room, and I hadn’t been in school in decades, but I was met with support, not shame. I was taught how to study, write academically, and, most importantly, trust my voice.

TYP reignited something in me. Today, I’m in my final year of an Honours BA in Sociology, African Studies, and Global Development. I’ve earned scholarships, co-led research projects, written for publications, and launched two community organizations.

It all started with that first step through the TYP door.

What’s even more powerful is how this story extends beyond me. TYP was founded the year after my mother migrated from Jamaica to Canada. Yet she never knew it existed. Forty years later, I would walk through those doors, and now, in a beautiful full-circle moment, my 20-year-old daughter is in the TYP program today. Three generations of Jamaican women. One transformative program. This is what TYP does, it changes family legacies.

If you’ve ever said, “It’s too late for me,” this program was built for you. If you are a: parent, teacher, elder, or mentor, tell someone about TYP. If you once dreamed of university but had to put that dream aside for: your kids, your job, or your health, know that your dream is not dead. It’s waiting.

TYP is for: single moms, caregivers, first-generation students, and people who were never told they belonged in academia. It’s for those who need a second chance, and a system that says, “We see you.”

One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that education can be a form of healing when it’s rooted in equity and community care. At TYP, I reconnected with my cultural identity. I began to understand the systemic forces that shaped my life, and how to push back.

Now, as a mom of four, caregiver to my 80-year-old mother, and founder of Inner Child Curative Inc., I use my education every single day to: uplift, advocate, and build, and I want others to know: you can too.

• Share this story with someone who might need to hear it.
• Visit TYP’s website and learn about the application process.
• Encourage schools and community groups to promote access-to-education programs like this.
• Talk about it. Visibility matters.
• Remind yourself: it’s never too late.

We must stop gatekeeping access to opportunity and start building pipelines of possibility, especially for our Caribbean and Black communities in Toronto, because healing is the new Black, and education is one of our sharpest tools.