Mahindra Ramcharan

Most of my work experience comes from the customer service industry however I’ve been working with high school students providing both mentoring and occasional tutoring support since 2013.

Hunny Pot Cannabis Co. 2022 - Present
Budtender & Educator
✦ Provided professional and detailed knowledge on safe consumption and product information
✦ Screened customers for age and sobriety while completing POS transactions in a busy store

Winner/ HomeSense 2018 - Present
Cashier & Sales Associate
✦ Providing in-depth product knowledge and personalized customer service to increase length of stay
✦ Completing high volume POS transactions, product returns, and cash reconciliations 

YouthLink - Pathways to Education Scarborough Village 2013 - Present
Site Support Staff
✦ Providing administrative support for academic and mentoring supports of the Pathways program
✦ Screening and managing behaviour of youth participants in community spaces adhering to safety
✦ Facilitating mentoring activities and providing one-on-one tutoring as needed
✦ Setting-up and tearing-down shared programming spaces and completing front-desk duties
 

Unity Charity 2010 - Present
Hip-Hop Dance Instructor and Educator
✦ Provide education through exposure of various dance styles under the Hip-Hop umbrella as across the city as well as through Zoom to student in Winnipeg, MB
✦ Assist as a moderator and support to students in sessions that we not actively engaged but present

SQx Dance October 2021 - December 2021
✦ Provide 5 week Zoom classes to students in at risk & underserved communities
✦ Share and educate the joys of dance and all dance terminologies
✦ Create dances based on the movements the do in classes
✦ Edit footage of class recordings into a compilation video for their end of program showcase
✦ Partake in discussions around sensitive subjects (e.g. discrimination, racism, ablism etc) and how to navigate having these discussions with friends and family

After completing high school and Centennial College’s prestigious professional Dance Performance Program, I’ve built a robust portfolio of professional experience teaching and coaching children and youth in dance and physical activity. Here, I built a capacity for practicing equity informed practices and anti-oppressive practices as they pertain to anti- black racism, curating safe spaces and supporting inclusive social interactions among young people.
While I continue to provide community-based and privatized dance lessons, I have also amassed several retail roles in competitive, high-traffic stores. While this role is in a drastically different sector, I stress the importance of client- centered service, diversified communication skills, and the ability to work in constantly changing teams. I know how to adapt to different tasks and work environments, work under pressure while retaining a warm and professional attitude to clients, and take direction humbly from supervisors.
For the past 9+ years, I have served Pathways to Education’s program in Scarborough Village, and I have developed a keen understanding of the program model, philosophy, core components, and of course the community. Providing Site Support duties in both the mentoring and academic parts of the program provided me with unique insight across a number of cohorts which has been valuable in contributing efforts to innovate and evaluate the work we do as a team. As a resident who has grown up in Scarborough Village and progressed through the Pathways program as a participant, I can attest to the ways that scarcity and poverty impact young people here and how we have responded to it via tutoring, mentoring, and various other financial and advocacy supports.
I have also been apart of programming provided by Unity Charity as well as progressed to be onboard with their roster of alumni to provide extracurricular drop-in dance classes. Having been apart of the programs they provided and now being able to host and provide those same programs, I’ve learned a vast array of transferable skills that would be beneficial in seeing different avenues of improvements a program can have from the first initiation of launch to a matured state.