Mahrukh left her home, friends and family and a banking career to offer her children a better life in Canada. She arrived with a head for numbers and a heart filled with hope. But also, an immediate need to adjust to a new environment and find a way to provide for her family. She had to find a place that would honour the knowledge she did have and teach her the relevant and technical skills to succeed. And she needed people who would understand the struggles of being an immigrant and help her navigate all the simple and complex details of how to apply to and pay for school and take care of her children as she studied.
Mahrukh found Anderson College.
“Anderson offered me the total package and so I decided to join the college right on the spot,” Mahrukh told us.
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As we all know, starting over is never easy. But it’s especially daunting when English is your second language, and you’ve never heard of student loans or how to receive them. And without family to support, how will your children get the care they need while you study?
Right from the start, Mahrukh connected with an Anderson Admissions Advisor who provided all the info she needed. She toured the campus and was warmly welcomed by the staff and was able to meet the instructors who would see her through the Accounting & Payroll Administration program – a perfect fit.
While Mahrukh was excited, she was also concerned about how she would pay for it all, how she could receive financial support and even how to successfully fill out her OSAP application.
“I was really worried about it, but Anderson’s finance team guided me through the application process and I had no problem. Whenever I needed help, there was always someone to advise me,” she said.
And when it came to her children, Anderson helped with that too. “I needed my enrollment papers for my children’s daycare, and I was so happy that the staff provided me with the documents quickly. It was a great relief,” she said.
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Mahrukh started classes in February 2020 and was finding her groove. But then COVID-19 hit, and classes moved online. This proved difficult at first, but she got the software and support she needed from the faculty and IT team. And the instructors helped their students adapt. “They even gave us extra time to discuss our problems and we could communicate with them by messages.” Online classes were going well.
And then sadly, Mahrukh’s mother fell ill. She had to return home to care for her and so she dropped her course. When she came back to Canada a few months later, she wanted to return to the life she’d begun but didn’t know how. “I contacted the college and received such a good response from them that I got all my confidence back and I restarted my course!”
In making a better life for ourselves, we will face challenges that at times will seem insurmountable. Mahrukh certainly did. But we must never allow those obstacles to hold us back from achieving our goals. Her advice for us, “If you really want to do something, try your best and get the support you need. Then it will happen.”
Having someone to cheer you on, helps.
Our Anderson College team is here for you, every step of the way.
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