LIFT Student Mentorship Program

Welcome to the LIFT application page!

Want to learn more about a career in healthcare?

Be part of St. Joseph’s

LIFT 2025 Summer Youth Mentorship Program!

July 14-18, 2025 or August 11-15, 2025

St. Joseph’s LIFT (Leading Inclusive Futures Together) program is a one week summer mentorship program for local, Black, Indigenous, and racialized grade 9 and 10 high school students. The program runs at St. Joseph’s Health Centre (30 The Queensway, Toronto) on July 14-18 OR August 11-15, 2025.  The application deadline is Friday April 30, 2025.   

In this program you will spend the first half of each day getting a behind-the scenes view of the hospital: you’ll get to try cool hands-on activities like simulation surgery, putting on a cast, or watching a doctor work out a tricky diagnosis.

The rest of the day will include:

• team activities with other students,
• career sessions,
• an opportunity to hear Indigenous perspectives on well-being and healthcare,
• and a chance share your ideas for the future of medicine with hospital leaders!

The goal of the LIFT program is to inspire students from under-represented communities to consider a career in healthcare, and to provide experiences, networking opportunities and resources for you to pursue that career. Research has shown that when patients meet and are treated by doctors and other staff that share their racial or cultural heritage they receive better treatment and experience better health outcomes.

This is a paid opportunity: We will provide you with a $600 stipend for completing this program. In addition, we will cover all your transport costs and provide free lunches for the week.            

We will select applications from Black, Indigenous and racialized students who self-identify as:

Black, Indigenous, Latin-X, Tibetan or South East Asian (Cambodian, Indonesian, Filipino, Laotian, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese etc.)

Anyone who lives in Toronto (GTA) may apply. We will give priority to local applicants who reside in the following postal codes:

M8V, M6S, M6R, M6K, M6J, M6H, M6P, M8X, M6N or Indigenous students with a city of Toronto postal code.

If you are accepted into the program, you will need to:

• Have access to email
• Provide your Social Insurance Number (SIN) to receive the stipend payment
  • a SIN starting with a 9 and  a work permit/student visa is valid as well

If you are interested in joining our 2025 summer program:

The application is due on Friday, April 30, 2025.We receive more applicants than we can admit to the program. We will review applicants on a rolling basis, so please consider submitting your application (and optional video) as early as possible.

Thank you for taking an interest in the LIFT program. If you have questions about the program or need assistance with the online application, feel free to contact us at LIFT@unityhealth.to

St. Joseph’s LIFT program acknowledges that the land on which the program takes place, Tkaranto, is part of the Dish with One Spoon Covenant territory and is the traditional and ancestral lands of many Nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabek, the Haudenosaunee, the Chippewa, and the Wendat Nations. It is land that is part of Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit in 1787 and the Toronto Purchase, 1787, 1805 and 2010. It is still home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are with us today, those who have gone before us and the youth that continuously challenge us to improve the work that we do. LIFT’s goal is to provide a culturally safe, supportive place where Indigenous youth can experience new opportunities, overcome barriers, build positive relationships, and develop confidence and skills for life. We recognize that these values are impossible to attain without the ongoing guidance and partnership with Indigenous peoples.

Last updated January 28, 2025