By: Wafa Benmahmoud
My name is Wafa. I am a mother of three beautiful daughters. Thirteen years ago, I immigrated to Canada. In 2018, I decided to go back to school in the hope of sharpening my skills in the Child and Youth Care field, as I am employed at a private school in Mississauga, and spend the majority of my time working with children and youth of various ages. Attending Sheridan College seemed like an obvious choice because I believed Sheridan had a very high quality of learning experience and was very reputable.
I recall my first day of school as very interesting. I felt overwhelmed with many things that I had to learn. The learning included finding the locations of my classrooms and other vital places like the common area, the library and most importantly, Tim Hortons. Also, I had to cope with the new learning system as I had studied at Tripoli University in Libya, back in 1990. The learning system is completely different than here in Canada. Moreover, I was worried about many barriers I had in mind like, my age, speaking English as a second language and being a visibly Muslim woman who chooses to wear the Hijab.
I am currently in my last semester. I cannot believe that I will be graduating so soon. It seems time has flown by. When I look back, I know that it was three years of a rich experience that I will be sharing with my children and grandchildren. Attending Sheridan every day motivated me to learn more, work on my personal growth and strive to continue developing my skills. I have built a great relationship with all my professors; I cannot thank them enough for the knowledge they have given me and for their constant support and inspiration.
I have made many friends from different backgrounds and ethnicities during my time at Sheridan. It has increased my experience with other cultural diversities and introduced me to new ideologies.
One of my achievements as a student at Sheridan College was receiving the Elizabeth Fry Award as a Child and Youth Care (CYC) change maker. This award came when I needed a positive push in my life, and helped me to stay motivated and push forward. This award made my daughters, friends, and extended family back home very proud of me. It empowered me to do my best in my schoolwork and achieve all the goals that I have set for myself. I have also become a peer mentor in my last year at Sheridan. It granted me the opportunity to connect with many students and achieve bigger goals than I had imagined.
My experience at Sheridan College has opened my eyes and deepened my knowledge in many sectors. It provided me with the necessary tools that I will need to become a successful child and youth care practitioner, taught me critical thinking and etiquette of asking questions amid so many other skills. To all my professors, fellow students, and staff members at Sheridan, I cannot thank you enough for all the valuable and irreplaceable experience you gave me. Thank you for everything.
In a time of incredible change, we are all experiencing this monumental shift together. With a global pandemic, the transition into online schooling and so much more, members of the Sheridan community have become chameleons to welcoming change into their daily routines.
But not every situation starts and ends so easily. There are hardships, challenges and struggles that we experience to come out successfully on the other side. In this blog series, students, Sheridan Alumni, and members of our Sheridan community will share their stories of resilience and how they were able to overcome these obstacles.
We are proud to call this series #SherYourStory.
If you wish to be a part of it, you can submit your stories either publicly or anonymously here.
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“I was just another international student coming to Canada from Punjab with huge dreams and little experience. It hasn’t been all fun and games coming from my hometown, but you know what they say, “Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.” Indeed, it became true.”