Congratulations to Brain Power alumna Cora Usurelu who won the SHAD Cup at McGill University this summer! Cora heard about SHAD through our posting of Student Opportunities at Brain Power. Brain Power director and founder, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky, supported Cora with her application essay and connected her with previous Brain Power students who attended SHAD. Cora attributes her success to winning the SHAD Cup to her Public Speaking class at Brain Power! CONGRATULATIONS, CORA!

This summer Brain Power student Andrew Zhou created the Toronto Robotics Society, a non-profit organization. Andrew and some of his very experienced robotics colleagues then ran a summer robotics program over the first two weeks of August. Andrew says: “[The program was] designed to be suitable for students that have no experience in robotics, but also for students who are interested in joining our teams and competing over fall/winter.” Andrew even came in to recruit potential Robotics Club members from Brain Power! How great to see...

This summer Brain Power students Christopher Lam, Carolyn Zhu, and Miyuki Mori (pictured) attended the DECA GRIT conference at the University of Waterloo! Miyuki says, “Overall, it was a really informative conference, and I acquired a lot of new tips and tricks to be successful in my DECA competitions.” Congratulations to all!

Brain Power Public Speaking alumni Ernst Ma had an amazing opportunity to wow three major CEOs, and the public speaking skills he learned at Brain Power came in handy! Ernst was in Hong Kong this summer, interning for a biodegradable plastic company called Global Acceleration. The product he is pitching in the video below is a biodegradable, compostable, super-strong plastic that is high and low temperature resistant. To see the video on Facebook, click here!  Ernst wrote a note to Brain Power’s founder and director, Dr....

On May 4th, a group of Brain Power students, led by Dr. Karine Rashkovsky and Dr. Jason Boulet, attended the Young People’s Theatre’s production of Antigone. This production is a fresh and timely adaptation of the classic Greek story, inspired by the 2014 student umbrella protest in Hong Kong and the 1989 uprising in Tiananmen Square. In this riveting new play, “re-education” awaits anyone who questions the state’s traditional doctrine. Antigone faces high stakes as she stands up for her brother...

If we had to, would humans actually be able to talk to aliens? Backed by science, Brain Power tackled this fascinating linguistics puzzle—and more—at our fall book club, hosted by Dr. Karine Rashkovsky and our resident linguist, Dr. Cassandra Chapman!

Brain Power recently welcomed David Silverberg as a guest speaker to our Public Speaking classes!  David is a very successful journalist who writes for the BBC, Washington Post, Vice Magazine, and Toronto’s NOW, and who is also the theatre director and founder of Canada’s largest spoken word organizations! While at Brain Power, David shared tips and knowledge, taking our students through various fun exercises to improve their communication skills! Thank you, David! 
It was a pleasure to have you!

We were excited to welcome Joze Piranian to our Public Speaking class on November 12th! Joze is a lifelong stutterer on the quest to confront his fears one stage a time. After spending most of his life avoiding speaking out of the fear of being judged for being “different,” he is now a TEDx speaker, Inspirational Speaker of the Year at Speaker Slam in 2017, and a stand-up comedian who has performed at the laugh Factory (Chicago), the Broadway Comedy Club (NY), Comedy Nest (Montreal), and Absolute Comedy...

Pictured above (left to right): Brain Power alumni Nicole Rayskin, Brain Power Instructor Patrick de Belen, Founder & Director Dr. Karine Rashkovsky, Brain Power student Slava Samokhina, Brain Power alumni Erik Fridman, and Brain Power alumni Jane Illiaranova. On November 28, Dr. Karine Rashkovsky’s Public Speaking classes attended the 2018 Grand Slam, an inspirational public speaking competition hosted by Speaker Slam! The event was held at Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto, and it was absolutely incredible! What a fantastic lineup of inspirational speakers and infectious...

On June 3rd and 6th, Karine took Brain Power’s Public Speaking students to a professional recording studio in Toronto to record their end-of-year final projects: self-made podcasts.  The students — who have been practicing a range of presentation skills — worked with a voice coach and sound engineer to perfect their final products. The students had an amazing time and learned so much! Their recordings will be part of their course yearbook, which will showcase the impressive growth in their skills this year. GREAT WORK, EVERYONE! Click...