This session shares how we created the award-winning TMU Breakthrough series for the @StudentLifeTMU social media channels at Toronto Metropolitan University. The series started in 2023 as an initial idea of how we can highlight students’ courageous moments. Since then, it has transformed into an annual summer series, with 21 videos to date, spotlighting the vulnerable, honest and brave moments in students’ lives. The presentation will highlight insights into our strategy, our approach to student storytelling, and how we work with both domestic and international students to capture their stories.
Antoinette Mercurio
Manager, Content Strategy, Toronto Metropolitan University
Antoinette is the Manager, Content Strategy on the Student Communications team at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Her portfolio oversees brand, design and social media, specifically the @ChooseTMU channels for prospective students and @StudentLifeTMU channels for current students.
A journalism graduate from the early 1900s, Antoinette was previously a senior writer/editor for TMU’s main campus newsletter, TorontoMet Today, and a 2021 recipient of TMU’s Alan Shepard Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (Staff) Award. She leads her creative team in humanizing the student life journey and continues to lean on curiosity as a starting point in bringing stories to life.
Daina Astwood-George
Director, Student Communications, Toronto Metropolitan University
Daina is the Director, Student Communications at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where she leads strategies that engage prospective and current students across the full student lifecycle. In her role, she oversees email, web, social media and CRM initiatives, fostering meaningful experiences from recruitment through graduation.
Previously, Daina managed communications in the Office of the Provost, supporting TMU’s academic priorities and strengthening the university’s reputation among key internal and external stakeholders. Before joining TMU, she built her career in public relations and worked with clients across the education, finance, corporate, technology, consumer and travel sectors. A people-centred leader, Daina is committed to fostering a positive, growth-oriented workplace culture. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in French with a minor in Philosophy from Queen’s University, a postgraduate certificate in Public Relations from Humber College, and a Master of Science in Professional Writing from New York University.
Michelle Barker
Digital Communications Coordinator, Student Communications, Toronto Metropolitan University
Michelle is the Digital Communications Coordinator on the Student Communications team at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). In her role, she collaborates with a team of creators to tell stories of students’ university journeys, to highlight the personal and academic resources that are available to them, and to showcase campus life at TMU. Michelle also supports an exceptional group of student staff in the content creation process, from script writing and interviewing students to filming and editing stories.
Michelle has a background in theatre and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Performance Production as well as a certificate in Publishing from TMU. She began her career in higher education in 2016 when she worked for TMU’s Housing & Residence Life team until she joined the Student Communications team in 2022. Her spare time is spent writing for film and theatre, and she’s passionate about storytelling and helping others to execute their own creative visions.