How to get ready for school, work and your career before the bell rings

After two difficult years of closures, partial closures, and remote learning, schools across the country will be welcoming students back next month for in-person learning – and with that comes back-to-school shopping, dorm-room decorating, school lunch-packing and more. To help ease the transition back to the classroom, we’ve put together a back-to-school guide for 2022, featuring tips on how to power up your kid’s school lunches, how to create a super stylish small space, and how to help your Gen Z kid navigate the new challenges of living online.

Student room ideas to save money with style

SVETLANA DAMJANAC/iStockPhoto / Getty Images

Part of moving away from home for university or college is learning how to accommodate all of the functions of a parental abode in a smaller footprint. But student dorms don’t have to be soulless to fit a budget. We consulted experts on their advice for students on creating a comfortable (yet affordable) space to live, study, and sometimes cook.

Top takeaway: Invest in multipurpose furniture and affordable décor to liven up your dorm with a sense of personality and purpose.

For more dorm design tips, read Odessa Paloma Parker’s breakdown on how to craft a budget-conscious living space well-suited to study, socialize and everything in between.

Five successful Canadians share their back-to-school and work day lunches

The lunchtime conundrum remains an everyday occasion to let yourself down, or worse: someone you love. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Successful Canadians in the arts, athletics and high-stakes finance share their packed lunch solutions.

Top takeaway: When in doubt, pack healthy foods that are easy to prepare in advance and share. A little planning the night before can go a long way to ensure you’re maximizing your day’s potential.

Learn more about how to power up your packed lunches with these five tips.

Why a growing number of Gen Z influencers, companies are rejecting Photoshop

Illustration by Carlos PX/unsplash/stock

Gen Z social media users are pushing back against influencers’ use of filters, misleading poses and Photoshop to craft an appearance that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. Governments and businesses are even beginning to propose laws and policies that would require influencers to disclose the use of photo-editing software.

Top takeaway: Photo editing on social media is chipping away at Gen Z’s self-esteem, and they’re starting to reject the rigid and unrealistic beauty ideals prevalent on apps like Instagram and TikTok. But it remains to be seen if Canada will join other countries and corporations in cracking down on the use of Photoshop to digitally alter perceptions of people’s bodies.

Learn more about what governments and businesses are doing to protect young people, and how Gen Z themselves are sparking social change.

Canada’s fashion schools alter offerings to meet changing industry demands

The past two years of pandemic restrictions have accelerated changes in postsecondary programs that offer technical training for careers in the design, making and retailing of clothing. Like the industry their grads are preparing for, fashion schools have had to be nimble during the pandemic.

Top takeaway: Curriculums and the student experience have been adapted in ways that reflect shifting societal values while also keeping pace with industry technology and addressing the new priorities of a changing work force.

Read more about how fashion students are navigating from the classroom to real life in a post-lockdown world.

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