Roads to Black representation in rehabilitation science – featuring Tamara Estabrooks

The Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University recognizes the historic and systemic barriers that Black students face in accessing postgraduate educational programs and opportunities. In response, the MSc Programs now include a Facilitated Black Admissions Program (FBAP), specifically designed for individuals who self-identify as Black.

To shed light on the critical importance and impact of this specialized admissions path, FBAP volunteer assessors have provided insights from their professional journeys and discussed the FBAP’s role in shaping the future of healthcare.

Among these assessors is Tamara Estabrooks, who works as a Speech Language Pathologist at Sounds-Good! Speech & Language Therapy.

Can you share some key milestones in your career?

All my life I knew that my career path would be in Healthcare as I came from a long line of doctors and scientists on both sides of my family. During my med school interview, however, I found myself talking passionately about a young girl with cerebral palsy whom I volunteered with as a teacher’s aid at her nursery school. It was at that very moment that I knew that my career journey would lead me to Speech-Language Pathology – a very new and exciting field which was the perfect marriage of Arts and Sciences. Over the past 25+ years, I have had the privilege and the pleasure of being a Paediatric S-LP working in both private and public sectors which has given me a rich opportunity to learn from many colleagues, families and of course, my students.

Why is the FBAP stream important to you?

I grew up in the very small town of Rothesay, New Brunswick. As I child, I was one of a handful of immigrant families who had two things in common- we were all non-white and our parents were either physicians, engineers or professors. Even though our backgrounds and cultures were broad and diverse, spanning from distinct Caribbean islands to different countries, cultures and religions, we were all “lumped together” and were often mistaken for siblings and cousins even though were not even related. Despite this benign (and perhaps even well-intentioned) over-generalization, we embraced our surrogate extended family unit. Together we supported each other in a frigid climate far from our parents’ upbringing with the warmth of navigating a foreign country with the hopes and opportunities our parents wished we could have. Even through much of my university years, from my bachelor’s degree in the Maritimes to my graduate programme in Ontario, I could count on one hand the number of persons of colour in each of my classes as well as the number of males in the Speech-Language Pathology programme. Today, in my role as a clinical facilitator for both U of T and Mac, I am encouraged as I see a very different classroom of eager faces from a myriad of backgrounds, ages, faiths, genders and experiences, each offering fresh perspectives and insights that truly enrich our field.

How does the FBAP compare to the previous admissions process for Black applicants?

Today we are living in a modern era where society is experiencing a paradigm shift. Our workplace culture is finally moving beyond paying lip service to awareness and diversity towards advocacy and accountability. To be a part of this cutting-edge global worldview, however, we must be mindful that our zealous intentions are authentic and not performative, genuine and not perfunctory, productive and not postural. In keeping with this vein, in the words of the esteemed American Civil Rights Activist, Marian Wright Edelman, “You can’t be what you can’t see”, as such, we must have mentors who represent the opportunities for our Black applicants so they can truly see what is possible in our bourgeoning field.

Why were you motivated to volunteer as an assessor for this stream?

As I mentioned before, we must have mentors who foster a supportive environment which personifies possibility. In today’s world, when we speak of culture, it encompasses the workplace as well as the community.

This poignant distinction is illustrated by what it means to come back to the roots of why I chose to be a Speech-Language Pathologist, or rather how this profession chose me. For as long as I can remember, I recall the many long car rides we took to the next province to visit my brother’s “speech teacher”. These weekend visits were a part of our family life as my parents sought ardently for a reason why my little brother started talking, and later, for no apparent reason, suddenly stopped. As I reflect on that time, and many years after learning more about communication, my eyes are now opened to my brother’s early struggles the importance of creating strong relationships and friendships and the implications that impact one’s place in society and their chosen vocation. My brother never had the support that is very much integral to our profession today. Back then, he didn’t have that “person” who could help him learn the nuances of communication and guide our family to help him connect with others. Presently, my brother is a very successful engineer with a full life, but I wonder if we had known then, what we know now, could we have been more supportive and made HIS journey easier?

With each group of students I meet, I introduce myself as being in the cumulative and present year of clinical training- as such, 2024 marks the 26 years of my clinical placement. The opportunity to be a clinical facilitator through the Mac program has been an honour as it has allowed me to be able to see our students rediscover why they pursued this career path, and in turn, it reignites my passion for our ever-evolving field. The Mac program is very unique as it provides clients and patients with the opportunity to share their journey. In doing so, they breathe life into what we do and how we can improve as clinicians. I volunteer because I seek to learn to have a better understanding of communication, be it from seasoned clinicians to “newbies”, from discussing case studies to attending conferences to implementing research in real-life applications. In doing so, I hope to become a better communicator both professionally and personally.

Want to learn more about the Faciliated Black Application Program for our SLP program – see here.