At the 2026 CanNRT Summer School, Fellow Ivana Okaro found more than a place to learn. She reflects on the friendships, shared curiosity and growing confidence that helped her find belonging there.
I have always felt that there are few moments as intimate and refreshing as sharing a meal with someone. Sitting at the edge of a long table, lined with fellows and professors, sharing food and unhurried conversation, I had never felt more certain about it. Around the room, I saw smiles and people leaning into each other, eager to know and be known. Surrounded by the ornamental details of Maison Louis-Joseph Forget, we could have been captured in a painting of that profound feeling: belonging.
A second-year fellow, I had sat at that table before. But I felt worlds apart from the person I was a year ago. A wallflower and avid people-watcher, I arrived at my first CanNRT Summer School planning to take notes, learn (and quickly forget) names, and leave largely undetected. My plans were foiled almost immediately. By the end of the week, I had joined spirited discussions with researchers, won the CanNRT Thesis Pitch Contest, and built friendships with fellows whose stories (and names) I will never forget.
This year, I arrived knowing there was space for the fullness of who I am. I approached speakers with questions, exchanged ideas about CanNRT programming, and found myself in conversation after conversation at the Welcome Reception at La Guilde Gallery. That confidence has traveled home with me. I see how I share my research and build relationships that give my ambitions room to flourish.
I watched other fellows find their footing, too. During Professor Eric Fombonne’s introduction to environmental epidemiology, for example, questions filled the room as he explored how unsound research practices can perpetuate misinformation. Fellows asked how to protect the integrity of their own projects and shared frustrations with a culture that can reward acclaim over accuracy. There was something marvelous about watching us all engage in sessions like this—we were learners together, building stamina for the process of becoming.
I especially loved the moments when fellows became teachers. In the Sharing your Science workshop, a group of fellows-turned-friends spoke about the familiar fear of putting ourselves and our science into the world. Their insights encouraged others to face “the cringe” and begin finding their voices as science communicators.
Wonder extended beyond the classroom. At the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, fellows and community members spent an afternoon creating and discovering together. To my amusement, we became my metaphor personified: pieces of art admiring pieces of art. Huddled in groups around paintings and sharing what we saw, we came to understand one another’s perspectives in a way researchers and community partners seldom get to. What better way to celebrate the people we’re becoming than among masterpieces, each of us one in the making?
Perhaps my favourite part of being a wallflower is watching people’s lives evolve. I notice trainees standing a little taller as they find their confidence, relief moving through a room when someone faces a fear, and the look in a fellow’s eyes when they realize more is possible for them than they once believed. I’ll likely always be loyal to my introversion. But getting to know the people whose stories I’ve loved watching unfold has been its own kind of joy.
In this video, our team did just that. Grab a snack, settle into a cozy corner and meet some of the people who make the CanNRT Summer School what it is.