In celebration of the Filipino Heritage Month, Kababayan, together with the Toronto Catholic District School Board organized a virtual forum, at which, Canadians, who had come as to Canada as a child or youth immigrant shared their experiences and stories of determination, perseverance, and resilience.
Below are some highlights of their youth migrant experiences.
Gerson is a 35-year old family physician and HIV primary care physician who immigrated to Canada from Manila, Philippines when he was 9 years old. Overcoming experiences of bullying with the help of his family and through hard work and determination, he went on to study nursing and then medicine. He says that good grades in high school had helped him secure scholarships, while bank loans helped fund his medical training.
Gelaine's journey to becoming an entrepreneur had been a "very winding" one as she described it. Her initial journey took her on the road to becoming, first, a veterinarian, and then to the corporate world. But none of these really fulfilled her until she started an enterprise - two, actually - that allowed her to combine what she loves, what she's good at, and what people need and could help them.
Justine, a 24-year old Silicon Design Engineer, did not give up on an internship at his preferred company - even if it meant sending out 60 applications. His passion for tinkering with and building stuff started at a very young age, and that passion pretty much influenced all his study and career decisions early on.
Kim did not have an easy transition from a life of abundance in the Philippines to a life of relative discomfort in Canada when she and her single mom arrived in Toronto when she was 11 years old. But that did not deter her from pursuing a career in the legal profession: a paralegal for 14 years, she has recently secured admission to the prestigious Osgoode Hall Law School, and is now very adeptly and delicately balancing her own paralegal practice, her law studies, and being a wife and a mother to four children.
What had inspired Shane to be social worker were her own experiences as a youth immigrant. She admits that during that time, she felt that she did not get sufficient support for such a difficult transition. Nor was she able to find resources to help her navigate the path of a university education - she had to do her own research, which was not easy given the complexity and amount of information out there. Now a social worker herself, she's made it her mission to help young people navigate the complex transition from youth to young adult, including in terms of post-secondary education, mental health, or career choices.
Listen to their individual stories at the Kababayan YouTube channel.
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