Our Grads

Once a “wounded animal”, Melanie came out of hiding after 15 years Melanie Morrison wanted to be a fighter pilot but growing up in a dysfunctional home pushed her life in a different direction. She had to move out at the age of 17, which left a significant hole in her heart. Somehow, she coped with the help of a...

To find success, Sheetal changed her outlook and pursued a new dream as a Health Care Assistant When Sheetal Dhir came to Stenberg College, she was confident she would fulfil her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. As an outstanding student in high school, she had volunteer experience working with people and had taken university-level Biology, Statistics, English and Psychology...

“It’s not that I’m a new ‘me’ but I’m a better ‘me’. A better ‘me’ who’s more confident and less doubtful. I fully believe in myself now.” For Faith Samson, these words didn’t come easily. She wasn’t always confident and free of doubt but today, as a graduate of Stenberg’s Education Assistant (EA) program, Faith can say with certainty she...

In 1992, 28-year-old Etsuko Fujita came to Vancouver from Japan alone on a one-year ‘working holiday’ visa. On her first day in the new city, she serendipitously made a very special friend. While in the check-in line at the YMCA, she began talking to a Japanese boy standing in front of her who, incidentally, was visiting on the same visa!...

“They say your forties are the best years, and I am starting to think they’re right!” Going back to school in her forties was a tough decision for Lindsay McAuley. She had a young family to help look after and finances looked bleak. But Lindsay knew it was time for her to start a career. LOOKING BACK Life was not...

“I’m really proud of myself, and I’ve never really been able to say that before,” Heather Pincombe shared. For Heather, becoming a Hospital Support Specialist was much more than finding a job. For this young, high school graduate, it was about finding a purpose. Since Heather was six years old, she was fascinated by nursing. It all started about a...

Leaving the Philippines to build a better life in Canada There’s more to Daryl Salvio than meets the eye. Behind her infectious smile and cheery demeanour is a past filled with tremendous struggle. The youngest of seven children, Daryl comes from humble beginnings in the Philippines. Her parents couldn’t afford to pay for their children’s education. “We had to ask...

An unforgettable moment Kerry Ogilvy is an Education Assistant and a Stenberg grad who feels lucky to work with children with exceptionalities. As she puts it, “It’s a privilege to work with these children. You can and do make a difference in the life of a child. I love it.” There is a moment that stands out in her memory....

“The struggles I’m facing, The chances I’m taking, Sometimes might knock me down but, No, I’m not breaking.” — The Climb by Miley Cyrus Krista May was driving back from her shift when she heard this song on the radio. Her eyes welled up. It was in that moment she realized “Oh, my God! I did it. I am a...

Today, Debra Andrew’s life is filled with love, happiness and success but it wasn’t always that way. The daughter of a teenage mom, Debra felt lost in her early years and used defiance as a way of coping with the chaos surrounding her. She grew up in an area of Calgary, Alberta, she calls the “hood,” where drugs and alcohol...