👋🏽 Hi! I’m Abbey Ramdeo
(ram·day·o) 🇨🇦 🇹🇹 🇵🇭 | educator, communicator and leader
PURPOSE of this story
On this page, I wish to use written storytelling to share the narrative of my *intersectionality as a multiracial woman of colour living in Canada. Keep reading to learn the story that brought me here, and my vision for this space.
Growing up, I learned the importance of *storytelling from my family. Oral storytelling is how I learned and continue to learn about the traditions and lived experiences of the Filipino and Caribbean *diaspora in my family – my parents and grandparents. For many other cultures apart from my own, it is a powerful way to pass down values and traditions, share knowledge and create connection.
THE STORY BEHIND the intersectional educator
I am the representation of the marriage of two beautiful islands – Trinidad and the Philippines. Like many other immigrants and refugees, my parents left their homelands in pursuit of a better life in Canada. They met in Toronto and raised a family in Scarborough — a city rarely described as a place worth visiting. But I love this city, it is rich in diversity of people and cuisine. It is a city that welcomed my parents who immigrated to Canada, and from this city hails diverse talent like The Weeknd, Andre De Grasse, and Eric Bauza.
Highlighting my home in my narrative is key because it is my lived experiences in Scarborough, and the shared experiences of my communities in Canada, that have empowered me to pursue deepening my learning of *equity, *diversity and *inclusion. It is also why I went into teaching — to make connections, learn about others, and create spaces that make others feel welcomed and included. An experience unlike my own. I did not always feel welcomed, or like my voice mattered, in the spaces I spent time in. I remember…
Recognizing early on that I could not see representation of people that looked like me in the classrooms I learned in, shows I watched, or books I read.
Elementary School
Not wanting to participate in classrooms so that I did not draw attention to myself and give others the opportunity to see how different I was.
High School
Hating the scent of my father’s curries because the scent clung to my clothes and brought stares.
Elementary School
Hearing a “joke” about Filipinos by a classmate in Gr. 3 that made me disconnect from my mother’s heritage.
Elementary School
Many of these memories are from school, and were all experiences that made me feel unheard and embarrassed about my *identity. However, I also remember the moments where I started to feel a *sense of belonging in spaces. This had everything to do with the diverse communities I began to connect with when I was older (both inside and outside of school). I remember…
Getting excited about *STEM classes with women of colour as my professor.
University
Meeting new friends in university who practiced religions I wasn’t familiar with, and recognizing I want to learn more about them (I attended a Catholic school until Gr. 12).
University
Attending a concert performed by H.E.R., a mixed singer (half Black, half Filipino), and thinking “Lawddd, I’ve never seen someone like me up there before”.
Masters
Being invited to join the West Indian Students Association in university, meeting others who shared my culture, and reclaiming my excitement about being Trinidadian.
University
So, it was really in my 20s (after finishing my undergraduate degree) when I understood how impactful it was to feel welcomed into spaces. This empowered me to connect with my 🇹🇹 and 🇵🇭 roots and embrace my intersecting identities (*Intersectionality). Feelings that I felt were stifled in Gr. 3 because I wanted to *assimilate with everyone else. Gratefully, these experiences shaped me into the educator (and student, cause ya’ll know we STAY learning 🤙🏽) that I am today. I am an educator who wants to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in everything that I do, especially in science, technology, engineering and math spaces. I am an educator that wants to foster spaces that allows people to feel a sense of belonging regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and ability.
The memories I listed above inspired me to use the opportunities gained within my studies (HBSc, University of Toronto; MT, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) to learn and practice how to do this. During my time at OISE, I wrote two research papers focusing on *Anti-Racism in the classroom and in STEM. This opportunity was crucial in informing how I myself work constantly to be an Anti-Racist educator in my educator roles at Toronto District School Board (STEM High School Teacher) and the University of Toronto (STEM Outreach Leader). I continue to leverage those insights in my role as a National Program Manager at Actua, a national STEM outreach and education organization. In my role, I collaborate with others to develop and facilitate impactful programs with the goal of helping youth feel welcomed and uplifting diverse voices.
MY VISION for this space
I am still on my journey of learning and unlearning at this point of my story. With the changing landscape of this work, I will always be trying to grow my knowledge and learn from others, and I acknowledge that I am not an expert on any one topic. My goal is to share my thoughts informed by my lived experiences, stories from others, and credible, accurate sources.
I am always happy to learn more – let’s connect if you have resources (videos, articles, experiences, podcasts, etc.) that have helped you on your own learning journey.
This space will be a curation of resources, knowledge and stories that help me become more *equitably conscious in my practice and day-to-day interactions. This will be how I document my stories and learning through the perspective of an intersectional educator.
ABBEY RAMDEO 