Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity
Pathways Program Ensures Success at Every Step
Pathways and Ryerson host conference to help students and alumni take the next step

TORONTO, June 19, 2009 – Pathways to Education™, the program responsible for dramatically reducing high school dropout rates and quadrupling post-secondary enrollment in Regent Park, has teamed up with Ryerson University to host “Success at Every Step”, a one-day conference designed especially for Pathways alumni.

With the first cohort of Pathways alumni graduating from university this spring, Pathways and Ryerson want to ensure they have all the tools necessary to make the next step towards their career aspirations. Grade 12 Pathways students will also be in attendance to learn about a range of potential careers in an effort to help them choose the post-secondary institution and program that’s right for them.

The grade 12 students will have access to a number of different seminars, including sessions on fashion, DNA, engineering and sociology. The Pathways alumni will attend a workshop conducted by BMO Capital Markets focused on how to navigate their career.

BMO Capital Markets, which supports Pathways via Equity Through Education®, will also make a formal cheque presentation to Pathways to Education Canada in the amount of $1 million – the total amount that the organization has donated thus far.

“Pathways to Education has produced spectacular results, by providing intensive individualized and multi-faceted support adapted to the specific needs of each student and his or her family and social circumstances,” said L. Jacques Ménard, Chairman of BMO Capital Markets and a champion of Equity Through Education, a charitable initiative whose mission includes providing access to education for individuals who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Mr. Ménard, who chaired the action group on student retention and academic success in Quebec, added: “We have much to learn from the Pathways experience that can be implemented in communities across the country.”

WHERE: Ted Rogers School of Management
55 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario
*Parking available off Bay south of Dundas under the Eaton Centre
DATE: Saturday, June 20, 2009
TIME: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHO: Speakers:
David Hughes, President and CEO, Pathways to Education
O’Neil Edwards, Director, Post-Secondary, Mentoring & Alumni Relations, Pathways to Education
Rona Abramovitch, Outreach and Access Advisor, Ryerson University
CJ Gavsie, Managing Director, BMO Capital Markets

• All speakers plus the Pathways students and alumni and workshop leaders will be available for interviews and photos

About Pathways for Education – www.pathwaystoeducation.ca
Pathways to Education Canada is a community-based charitable organization that is reducing poverty and its effects by lowering the dropout rate and increasing access to post-secondary education among disadvantaged youth. Pathways was developed by the Regent Park Community Health Centre which launched the initial program in 2001 and now operates in six communities, with programs in Toronto (Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, and Rexdale), as well as Kitchener, Ottawa and Montreal.

About BMO’s Equity Through Education Program – www.bmocm.com
Equity Through Education®, is a charitable initiative launched by BMO Capital Markets in 2005 to help people realize their educational ambitions by giving them opportunities to pursue those goals. Some of the proceeds from Equity Through Education, which has raised a total of $6.6 million to date, are used to fund the Pathways bursary program. Equity Through Education proceeds have funded more than 200 Pathways students. The bursaries fund post-secondary applications and/or tuition fees.

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