Tag: WES Gateway Program

Success Story: Ali Khalaf Uses His Platform to Help Other Newcomers

When Ali Khalaf left Iraq in 2018, he had been using his master’s degree in international business to teach management, e-commerce, industrial organization, and commercial law at the University of Basrah. When he arrived in Canada, he was eager to continue doing what he loves—teaching—and planned to earn his doctoral degree. But things didn’t go […]

Immigrant Success Stories: Anas Farhoud

Anas Farhoud remains optimistic in the face of adversity. He and his wife, Razan, left Syria and moved from one country to another for a full decade before finally settling with their two daughters in Canada in 2020. But he never lost faith that they would find a permanent home someday and prosper there. His […]

From Teaching to Learning: A Refugee’s Story of Resilience

Ninos Ishaia and his wife Nancy are just two of the 6.6 million Syrians that left their country to escape its civil war. Before coming to Ontario, Canada, the couple had lived for more than two years in Lebanon. Five years have passed since Ninos joined more than 70,000 Syrian refugees who settled in Canada, but he vividly remembers the fears that came with the transition.   “I arrived in January 2016, thinking that my biggest challenges were the […]

Ziad’s Story: From International Student to Professional Engineer in Canada

Ziad Ajweh is a Building Safety Code Officer at the City of Edmonton. He moved to Canada as an international student nearly a decade ago, and obtained a Master of Science in construction engineering and management here. Ziad recently received the title of Professional Engineer (P.Eng.).     This blog post traces Ziad’s immigration story and the challenges he overcame as a newcomer to enter a regulated profession in a new country.   Despite COVID-19, Ziad remains […]

From Banking to Jazz: A Syrian Refugee’s Journey to Canada

Majd Sekkar was a Syrian refugee when he arrived in Canada. Today, he’s hitting high notes as he develops a music career in Toronto. Keep reading to learn about his journey. In the Beginning: Aleppo and Damascus Majd holds a bachelor’s degree in banking and finance from the University of Aleppo, which he attended from […]

Re-Entering Your Profession: A Former Refugee’s Story

Loae Al Mously is a computer network engineer from Syria. He now works as a network administrator in Canada. But at one point, he was a refugee without a home or country. He has had to work hard to achieve success and build a new life. Here, he tells his story. Seeking Safety, and a […]