Celebrating International Women’s Day at Sheridan

A Conversation with Rhema Javed, SSU VP of Staff and College Engagement

In honour of International Women’s Day, we want to celebrate women at Sheridan who have inspirational stories, fascinating journeys and a commitment to empowering themselves and their community. First up, we spoke with Rhema Javed, an Honours Bachelor of Community Safety student, who is trailblazing a path toward greatness in all that she does.

“I was born in Pakistan and grew up here. When I was 12, my family decided to migrate to Brampton, Ontario, Canada, and I have been here ever since. At first, it was overwhelming. Even though I was young, I remember life back home being beautiful, so once I moved here, I was shocked. The kids could be so mean, and the buildings, and the architecture, everything was so different. It was a culture shock for sure.

My dad has a nursing degree from back home, but once we moved here, things changed. Now he will be retiring soon, and he’s the breadwinner of our family, so I just keep thinking someone needs to support the family. Between me and five siblings, I’m the first person to go to college and get a degree. It’s stressful, at times, but someone has to do it.

My inspiration for studying Police Foundations started with the need for higher education in this ever-progressive world. However, when I started the program, I was shocked at how crime prevention was often overlooked—the public safety sector focuses more on crime intervention, which means addressing the problem after it has occurred. This method is problematic because it increases incarceration rates and burdens our correctional facilities. After graduating from Police Foundations, I spent a year looking for a job in the field and it was really hard. I came back to Sheridan to get a degree in Community Safety and realized the opportunities are endless in this program and I don’t have to just go into Policing but can be a part of community development.

One thing that I am currently working on is my Capstone project. I wanted to explore ways to support people with lived experiences with sexual violence. As a woman in college, I understand the need to make this campus more aware of the sexual violence policies and resources, and this project allows me to do that. My passion for supporting the community and my interest in getting involved at Sheridan specifically, develop as I got further into my studies. In the middle of my program, I realized I wasn’t a part of the Sheridan community in the way I wanted to be. So I joined the Board of Directors and later applied for the VP of Staff and College Engagement position at the SSU. In many ways, joining the Board helped build my confidence to go for all the opportunities that present themselves, and also ask for the opportunities I want to exist too.

One of my proudest moments at Sheridan has been the ability to interact with students. My work at Sheridan has allowed me to help others, which has been the hallmark of my journey. Being able to serve and guide new students through student life has been the most meaningful part of my Sheridan Life. I struggled to make meaningful connections in my first year, and the fact that I can be that peer-to-peer support for others is gratifying.

Another important thing to mention is I’m proud of my accomplishments but didn’t do this alone. My girls have been my steppingstone since I started this program, we encourage each other to strive for better marks or to apply for jobs. It has been a pleasure working with such a motivated group of women. My friends are also leaders in their work area (managers and board members), which has inspired me to do the same.

The thing that inspires me the most in others is grit, the ability to keep trying even after failure. It is both passion and perseverance toward long-term and short-term goals that have gotten me where I am today. Even when I think about the challenges I faced at Sheridan while applying for Co-op, I can see how a determined mindset helped. The list of available co-op opportunities was often outside my field, paid poorly, or required relocation. We were also under the impression that there would be a lot of support from the staff in finding a co-op placement, which was not true. These challenges made me feel like I could not get what I wanted from this program.

However, I stayed positive and asked Kyle (the SSU President), if my current role could be turned into a co-op position. As part of my co-op, I was made the head of the Sexual Health and Violence Committee, which made the VP role so much more related to my program. I am incredibly grateful that I was able to grow in a setting I already enjoyed and was comfortable in.

So my advice, for anyone feeling like I did, take the chance, go for that job, volunteer with that organization, build solid friendships along the way, and keep going. I’m not sure where this degree will take me, but I’m excited to find out.