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Indian Immigrant Finds Her Own Path
Like so many recent immigrantsarriving in a strange new land, HimaniShah resigned herself to toiling in afactory, exchanging her labour for some meager wages."It's really sad for a lot of newcomers,"she acknowledges. "Many peoplecome here with degrees and professional careers, but end upworking in a factory or a kitchen just to make ends meet."Shah landed in Toronto four years ago with a Bachelor of Computer Science diploma tucked into her luggage from the University of Gujarat in her native India. She had planned to attend university tocomplete a Master’s program in computer studies, but realized it wasnot so easy to enter university in Canada.Shah found herself working in a factory, but yearned to return to anacademic environment. "I was starving to go back to school," sherecalls.Living in Scarborough, Shah decided to visit a nearby campus of Centennial College to find out what kind of courses she could take atnight to supplement her college educationand become oriented tothe Canadian job market.As luck would have it, she met Ilia Nika, Information SystemsCoordinator in the School of Engineering Technology and AppliedScience. He was excited by her qualifications, recognizing the skillsshe had brought from India, and convinced her to re-examine her priorities.
 
Rather than take classes in the evening and work all day, Nikapersuaded her to enroll in the college's Computer Programmer/Analyst program full-time during the day and work part-time in the evenings to earn an income."He showed me how I could get credit for some of my studies inIndia, which meant I did not have to take duplicate courses," sherecalls. "With my advanced standing, I could take a three-year program in a year-and-a-half, and save some tuition money, too."Shah quit her manufacturing job and enrolled in the Centennialprogram. To help with her family's expenses, she found an evening job at a local Tim Horton's coffee shop, which fit her schedule better.Still, it was not an easy adjustment."It was a tough time for me. I went to classes every morning startingat 8 am, then worked on my assignments after lunch for two hours,then rushed off to work at 3 pm," Shah recounts."I was on the run from 8 am until 11:30 at night. And when I wasn'tworking, I would stay on campus late at night to do my assignmentsbecause it was crowded and noisy in our family's apartment."Despite the challenges, Shah flourished in her new learningenvironment. She had gotten her wish to return to an academic life."Education-wise, it's more advanced in Canada. You get theopportunity to learn with upcoming technology in advanced labs usingup-to-date, helpful software. Ilia Nika and my other professors alwaysmade themselves available to talk about technology and how to solveproblems in the workplace."
 
Shah took advantage of the college's cooperative educationopportunities. Centennial students in business and engineeringtechnology can get a job with an employer for four months per year,where they can practice what they've learned in a genuine workenvironment. The best part is, students are paid during their co-opplacement."My first co-op assignment was with the Ontario Municipal Board,where I did computer programming and staffed the IT help desk. Mysecond job was with new-media company ExtendMedia, where I didprogramming in Java and C-sharp.""I developed good contacts through co-op, and implemented the skillsI had gained in class in a real working environment," Shah beams.She managed to make enough money during the co-op terms tolessen the need for grueling evening work. She left Tim Horton's andfound a paid job on campus, tutoring fellow students."I discovered I love to talk to people and to teach them," Shah says.With more time to dedicate to her studies, her grades rose from a Baverage to a consistent A+ score in her final semester.She also began seeking interviews with employers for a position after graduation. With her strong background and co-op work experience,she impressed the powers that be at Canadian banking giant CIBC,earning a position as a Solution Developer at the bank’s central datacentre in North York.The happy outcome was not just a matter of good fortune. Upon her arrival in Canada, Shah quickly concluded that individuals – both menand women – are free to choose their destinies here, rather than rely
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