Arjun's Journey
Arjun, a talented hardworking guy was employed in the marine industry for 4 years. Petty politics, his good nature and need to grow drove him to try other avenues. When he was at the end of his rope and his ambition was taking shape, he came across the Naval Architecture Graduation course at UBC. While at UBC, he met some amazing people from the UK, Nigeria, and China. He discovered his passion for designing vessels and project management. Today, he is employed by Seaspan, one of the major shipbuilders on the West Coast as a Project Manager and spends his time handling clients from all over the world.
The Canadian Experience
Canada, with its diversity in culture, can help anyone feel comfortable enough to discover their inner strengths. The global opportunities at school and in life, provide people with exposure to win at any game in life. What’s even more amazing is that immigrants are not second class citizens here, they make the very fabric of Canadian life. From politics to medicine, law and human resources to finance, immigrants, are helping shape the future of this country.
Michaëlle Jean's Impact
Michaëlle Jean immigrated to Canada from Port-au-Prince in 1968 and studied at the University of Montreal as well as Universities in Italy before beginning her career as a Quebec television journalist in 1988. While Jean tended to her pursuit of higher education she assisted hundreds of women and children in crisis and passionately donated her time to the establishment of a network of emergency shelters throughout the province of Quebec and elsewhere in Canada.
At Jean's official public appointing to her duties as the newly elected Governor-General of Canada, Prime Minister Paul Martin said "She has known what it is to come to a new country with little more than hope, hope and a belief that with hard work a new country can bring new opportunity," and furthered his motion by calling Jean "an extremely talented woman who will bring a new perspective to the office."
Shalina Ousman's Research
Another story that comes to mind is that of Shalina Ousman, who runs a research lab Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary with her main focus being multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that affects 100,000 Canadians. Born and brought up in Guyana, Ousman moved to Canada as a teenager seeking good education in a reputed university. Her hard work got her into Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, for her undergraduate and master’s degrees, then McGill University in Montreal for her Ph.D., before ending up at the University of Calgary.
Canada's Commitment to Immigrants
Canada has long prioritized bringing in skilled immigrants and competes with countries like the UK and the US for their talents. About 20% of the country is foreign-born and more than half of Canada's immigrant population is highly educated. Some of Canada’s most successful companies were founded by immigrants – a trend that won’t be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a recent Statistics Canada study found that immigrants are more likely to create businesses than Canadian-born people.
Starting Fresh
You never know, maybe you will be the next Harjit Sajjan or Shalina Ousman. Anything’s possible and we want to help you start fresh, today. Contact us for more details.
