2023 — What a Year!

Merry Christmas y’all!

What a Year it’s been!

Seemed like just another year when I quickly got into the motions — prepping and planning how to work through the year 2023 with some old projects and new ones coming together. 2022 was pretty good with things aligning and a last-minute move out of the GTA.

As things stabilized I seemed to have settled into a routine that worked. Then one day, in March, I got contacted about an opportunity to share my story with an amazing team of professionals. Well, I didn’t think my story was good enough to share at that time, but accepting that opportunity seemed to set the trajectory for the year 2023. A year where I had the opportunity to give back and support over 100 newcomers to Canada.

Shout out to Agata at ACCES Employment who contacted me if I’d be willing to share my professional journey with the new cohort at the IT Connections program. This was an honour for me as I’d been a recent participant, and the program helped me to figure out my journey in the beautiful country of Canada. The event took place in April and it was a virtual meetup with over 20 participants, most of whom I was happy to support in ‘my little way’ on their journey. One particular participant checked out the career page of my current employer — Long View Systems, and found an interesting role. After connecting with him to chat about the role and his experience, I was happy to refer him for the role. It took about 3 months after that but… it worked out eventually! He got his first full-time job in Canada.

Let’s Play SOCCER!

Summer came with an opportunity to coach the soccer house league at the club where my daughter played. This was such a rewarding experience. I had such a great connection with the girls and their parents as they improved their game all through the season.

The year seemed to be getting busier than I had imagined; but whenever I paused to breathe, I saw the success of some of the projects I had completed for my clients, the excitement of the kids at the soccer club, the gratitude from the numerous people who have given me the privilege of supporting them on their Canadian journey (many of whom now have new jobs). And I thought, this is actually rewarding and satisfying. So I kept on.

In all honesty, not many people know or can relate to the struggles of new immigrants like those who’ve lived the experience more recently. And this doesn’t mean it’s a problem not to know what other people are going through, it’s just a matter of present priorities. So, upon arriving Canada, I had participated in one of the cohorts facilitated by Agata, Jenya Zukershtein and their team and they were very supportive in introducing us to what the Canadian work environment looked like. This experience was very helpful to me and I made sure to refer any newcomer that came my way to such programs.

Connection, Support and Connection

Well, as we approached Q4 of 2023, something more interesting happened. My dear friend Ibilola was at our home and she discussed how she’d found a new love working with students at Conestoga. She didn’t ask me, she simply shoved the opportunity down my throat (as it had no conflict with my full-time job). Weeks and months passed and I have now read all of the feedback the students shared about my work with them (all international students). I can only be grateful for such amazing FinTech and ITPM students for making it a great year for me.

Of course, the year had its turbulence and there were moments where I thought I couldn’t push through another day, but as a person of faith, I prayed and trusted God all through the journey and I can say… it’s been a great year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to y’all!!!