12 Key Elements of LBD

Career Exploration

Participating in events and discussions to encourage curiosity, broaden knowledge and perspectives.
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Integrating civic engagement into the curriculum of the Leadership by Design (LBD) program is essential for cultivating informed, empathetic, and proactive leaders who are equipped to shape their communities and broader society. Civic engagement fosters a sense of responsibility and belonging, motivating young people to actively participate in democratic processes and to understand the significance of their voices and actions. Through learning about local governance, community needs, and the importance of advocacy, students develop critical thinking and collaboration skills while also gaining firsthand experience in effecting positive change.
  • Self-Discovery: Career exploration encourages introspection, helping students identify their strengths, values, and interests—crucial traits for authentic leadership.
  • Skill Application: Leadership competencies become more meaningful when students see how they apply to specific careers, industries, and entrepreneurial possibilities.
  • Empowerment: By connecting leadership to career pathways, students are empowered to set goals, make informed decisions, and take proactive steps towards their future.

That the Leadership by Design (LBD) program prioritizes the learning and ongoing practise of essential leadership skills means students have many varied opportunities for acquiring workplace and entrepreneurial skills. To emphasize the connection between leadership skills and career preparation and success, we need only scan job advertisements which explicitly demand leadership competencies.

Leadership Skills
Symposia & Conversations
Civic Engagement
STEM Learning
Pursue Business
Scholarships
Mentorship
Career Exploration
Cultural Arts
Relationships
French Language
Parent Partnership
The leadership ambitions of LBD students will be best realized within the context of fulfilling careers. Here are reasons why much of the LBD curriculum integrates leadership with career support:
  • Leadership Impact: Emerging leaders who develop expertise and establish credibility within their chosen fields are better positioned to earn trust and drive meaningful change. A successful career serves as a foundation for leaders to influence others and make valuable contributions to their communities.
  • Personal Fulfilment: Leaders s who purposefully shape their career trajectories are more likely to achieve alignment between their competencies, core values, and professional responsibilities, which can result in enhanced satisfaction and overall well-being.
  • Social Responsibility: The career paths selected by emerging leaders will have impacts across society. Thoughtful career planning enables students to address challenges, drive innovation, and uphold ethical standards in a range of professions, including entrepreneurship and public service.
  • Building Networks and Influence: Career success broadens a leader’s network and influence, providing access to valuable resources and collaborators.

How the LBD program provides career support

Below are examples of the ways in which the LBD program provides career support:

CIBC Hackathon

The hackathon challenges students to solve problems, make decisions, think creatively, and demonstrate adaptability and resilience while working as a team within a set time frame. These skills are highly valued in the workplace.

These three LBD programs offer access to up-to-date information on career pathways, labour market trends (e.g., AI), and post-secondary options.

LBD students are encouraged to visit universities, colleges, and workplaces to discover learning opportunities. University representatives and employers are also invited to LBD sessions to expand on career pathways.

During the 2024-25 academic year, the LBD provided workshops which allowed for career-exploration as well as leadership study. These workshops included:

  • Project management
  • Resume preparation
  • Networking
  • Public speaking
  • Introduction to LinkedIn
  • Introduction to Microsoft Excel
  • Business communication and methodologies
  • Self-awareness and goal setting

Presentations on Career-Related Fields: During the academic year 2024-25, these presentations included:

  • How I Came to Select a Career in Law… and Why
    Dave D’Oyen, student, Lincoln Alexander School of Law, TMU
  • Real Voices, Real Medicine: Embracing Authenticity in Learning
    Saumya Surti, student, Midwestern University, Glendale, Arizona
  • I’m Here to Share My First-Year University Experiences at University
    Panel of four LBD students who had just completed their first year
  • Leadership in the Field of Medicine — My Career Perspective
    Dr. Upton Allen, Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)
  • University Onboarding and Student Life Cycle
    Sarah Klassen, Curriculum/Learning and Student Experience, University of Toronto Scarborough.

ONYX Initiative provides career development support for LBD students during their post-secondary years. ONYX seeks to “close the gap in the recruiting and selection of Black university and college students, as well as recent graduates, for roles in corporate Canada.”

Summer Career Learning: LBD encourages students to pursue career-focused summer learning opportunities offered by reputable organizations. Three examples include:

  • Shad Canada: A summer program that equips high school students with the skills, mindset, and confidence to lead in a rapidly changing world.
  • Summer Mentorship Program (SMP): Offered by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, this program provides Black high school students and others with a chance to explore health science education and careers through hands-on activities, experiments, lectures, and special projects.
  • Student Advancement Research (StAR): This program, offered by the Research Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), provides Black high school students and others a first-hand perspective on current research at SickKids over six weeks in the summer. In summer 2025, four LBD students participated in the program.

Student Voice — Ire E., Cohort 2023
Sharing Our StAR Program Experience at SickKids
Email, August 19, 2025

Good afternoon:

I hope your summers have been going well. I am writing to share some exciting news along with three other LBD students about an amazing opportunity we had this summer.

This past week, we completed the StAR Program at SickKids (Student Advancement Research Program), which provides marginalized students with the chance to experience medical research in a professional setting.

Out of over 130 applicants, only 21 students were selected, and I am proud to share that myself, along with my fellow Cohort 2023 members Ife, Idunnu, and Naomi, were among those chosen. Each of us was placed in a research lab at SickKids under the guidance of managers and principal investigators, where we contributed to ongoing projects and gained valuable insight into the world of medical research.

For my placement, I had the privilege of joining Dr. Jennifer Stinson’s iOUCH Pain Lab, where I worked on user interaction data extractions for a website developed by the lab, as well as contributing to a study on chronic pain in children. This experience has been both eye-opening and inspiring.

We would love the opportunity to share more with you about our experiences and what each of us learned this summer. Attached are photos of the four of us on our final day at the program.

We are truly grateful for this opportunity, and we know it would not have been possible without the skills, knowledge, and support we’ve received from LBD over the past two years.

Thank you for all you’ve done to help prepare us for opportunities like this.
Warm regards,
Ire A.

Cohort 23 LBD Student (Grade 11)