Erika Falcao credits Red River College for pointing her in the right direction.

Falcao, who is from Recife, Brazil, graduated from RRC’s Applied Accounting program in 2017. She works at Bokhaut Chartered Professional Accountants Inc., an accounting firm that specializes in working with physicians.

She was first made aware of Bokhaut through RRC’s annual Directions Conference, which connects business and applied arts students with industry professionals.

“I met a Bokhaut representative at the Directions Conference and then I sent them my resume. After a couple weeks I got an interview and a job, even before my graduation,” says Falcao.

“So when I finished the program, I had a job already. It was the first and only place I applied to, which was really great.”

Falcao started as a staff accountant at Bokhaut in June 2017, and in January 2019 was promoted to a manager position.

It makes sense that she was able to climb the ranks so quickly, given she worked as a financial analyst for a Brazilian construction company.

Back home, Falcao also earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, as well as a master’s in Business Administration, Financial Management, Auditing and Control from Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

“I didn’t find [Applied Accounting at RRC] that difficult,” Falcao says.

“I really liked the instructors — they were all very knowledgeable and I admired them a lot. It also helped already knowing the concepts of accounting. The program was helpful because even though I have a background in Brazil, I still needed a Canadian background to get the job.”

Applied Accounting is a one-year certificate program offered at RRC’s Notre Dame and Exchange District campuses. The program provides students with the skills necessary to deliver entry-level accounting support, by emphasising the basics of accounting, as well as mathematics, communication, computer skills, business software and general business practices.

Falcao, who studied at the Exchange District Campus, says she and her husband didn’t have too much difficulty adapting to life in Winnipeg, having done a lot of research on the city before arriving in Canada.

Falcao says her experience at RRC was also helpful in easing her transition to a new country.

“I think the main reason is there are a lot of international students there,” she says. “One of the things I was worried about was my English. When I saw a lot of students going through the same thing, it kind of helped.”

Falcao plans to enter a CPA program, but is currently waiting on her permanent residence application to be processed.

Until then, she’s focusing on her work at Bokhaut, which has enabled her to come full circle on her Canadian journey.

“Bokhaut always participates in Red River College events — we are always at the Directions Conference, the First Impressions Recruitment Event, and the Career Fair,” Falcao says.

“This year and last year I had the pleasure to go to Red River College representing Bokhaut. I was on the other side of the table. It’s a great feeling.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

A graduate of Red River College’s Business Technology Management (BTM) program, Manchanda is currently working as a Technical Project Manager at Web Wizards Inc., a Winnipeg-based company that specializes in web design and development, with focuses on online marketing, search engine optimization and software development.

In his role, Manchanda is responsible for making sure that everyone is working within scope and following the framework of the team’s assignment. He’s also accountable for tracking the performance of projects and ensuring they come in on time and within budget, and that they ultimately satisfy his clients’ needs and expectations.

As an international student from New Delhi, India, Manchanda’s focus was on getting accepted to a college that had an excellent standing, and a strong success rate of graduates being able to find employment in their fields of study.

“I believe the BTM program is the best in the field, with a rounded curriculum that not only gave me the necessary project management skills but also familiarized me with business law, financial accounting and analysis and economics, along with a variety of other necessary skill sets that you require when operating an IT business,” says Manchanda, who graduated from the program in 2017.

BTM is a two-year diploma program offered at RRC’s Exchange District Campus. The program provides grads with the necessary knowledge and skills to analyze, design and manage projects and businesses related to the field of information technology.

Manchanda, who came to Canada in late 2015, adjusted to life in a new land quite quickly. He says RRC helped him to acclimate to a new country, a new city and a new culture. Within a short time of being here, he was also able to secure employment.

While at RRC, Manchanda participated in the College’s Intercultural Mentorship Program, where international students are paired with Canadian-raised peers for cultural exchanges, support and friendship. He says the experience helped him reduce the time it took to become adjusted to the cultural and educational systems within Canada.

“I believe moving to a new country can be tough for anyone,” he says. “But right away I met new people, I made new friends, and over time they became my family here and my immediate support system.”

Manchanda says he’s a naturally adventurous person. When his family told him how bitterly cold it is in Winnipeg, he says he shrugged it off and said “people live there.”

He’s also big on self-improvement. Currently, he’s learning to speak French at the Université de Saint-Boniface. And proving he’s not afraid of the cold, Manchanda recently signed up for skating classes at The Forks, where he’s been gradually getting accustomed to his new blades over the winter.

“I am very excited to be able to skate without falling over as much, finally. It’s a very exhilarating feeling and motivates me to learn further and practice more,” he says.

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Sophie Shi knows that knowledge is power.

A 2018 graduate of Red River College’s Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) program, Shi works as a junior electrical designer at Hatch. A global engineering firm, Hatch supplies project and construction management services, as well as consulting and operational services to the mining and metals, energy and infrastructure industries.

Shi, who is from Liaoning province in northeastern China, started at Hatch a year and a half ago on the strength of her final project in the EET program.

“[The project] was about home energy monitoring by using SEL (Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories) company software and equipment,” says Shi, 26, who did her co-op placement at Hatch. “[Hatch] was using SEL company software and equipment, that’s why they were very interested in my final project.”

Shi’s duties at Hatch include assisting engineers with 2D and 3D drafting works, as well as project deliverables, including reviews of vendor drawings, cable lists, and some basic interconnection drawing design work.

Shi says she enjoys working at Hatch, which has an office location in downtown Winnipeg.

“I never feel bored,” she says. “At Hatch, engineers are highly qualified, they teach me before I start the project drafting work. I get the chance to understand and learn the electrical design. My manager provided me 40 hours of 3D modelling training when I entered the company.”

“In addition, Hatch provides exciting social events for us after the work day every month.”

Shi came to RRC through a partnership with Shenyang Engineering Institute in China. This meant that she was able to skip the first year of EET and go straight into year two of the 28-month diploma program.

EET prepares students for employment in the electrical industry, whether it be in design, installation, maintenance, production or technical sales and support.

But before she entered the program, Shi first had to complete a stint at RRC’s Language Training Centre, located at Union Station on Main Street.

“When I came here, I could say ‘yes’ and ‘no’, but when I graduated from Language Training Centre I can communicate with other students and also with professors — and I can find a job,” she says.

“It’s very useful. They not only give you the knowledge of English and the grammar, but also some culture — and the teacher prepared us to be able to present some presentations in front of people.”

Shi says she loves working in the electrical industry in Winnipeg and is happy she came to Canada to study at RRC.

“I had a memorable experience at Red River College,” she says. “I gained technical and hands-on skills in class and the practical lab class. The final project that I did … gave me a chance to build my problem-solving and teamwork abilities. Also, Red River College provides free interview guidance and resume review, as well as co-op opportunities which helped me to have work experience and easily get a job after I graduated.”

“Being an electrical engineer is really cool, and I am really good at math and I have a strong logical thinking. [The] electrical field is my best choice.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Kanupriya Sidhu knows that when you help others, you help yourself.

Sidhu came to Canada from Punjab, India in early 2016 to study Business Administration at Red River College. While here, she sought out volunteering opportunities as a way of adjusting to a new country and culture.

“The first year I was pretty much trying to adjust to what was going on. Everything was different,” says Sidhu, 21, who graduated from the program in 2018.

“Studying wasn’t really hard for me. I was a bright student and I was doing well with my courses. I wanted to focus more on fitting myself into this culture and community, to get to know people and feel more comfortable and more at home in this place if I’m going to stay here for awhile.”

Sidhu acted as a Diversity Ambassador at RRC, a role that saw her promoting diversity on campus, providing peer support and assisting in the organization of events and activities.

“I used to volunteer a lot on campus, just because it kept me busy and also helped me interact with new people,” she says.

“I learned a lot about how the community thinks, how it works, and a lot about the culture of Canadian people. I also got to interact with instructors and management while organizing the activites. Volunteering added a lot to my experience here.”

In addition to her ambassador work, Sidhu also co-chaired RRC’s Student Refugee Program (SRP) committee, an initiative of World University Service of Canada.

“Every year, the SRP sponsors a student refugee and we support them on campus,” Sidhu says.

“I went to Ottawa in August 2017 and there was a leadership training program for SRP committee heads. That was a whole new experience because I got a chance to interact with people from more than 100 colleges and universities from all over Canada.”

Since April of last year, Sidhu has worked as a Member Service Representative at Assiniboine Credit Union. She says she landed the job through RRC’s annual First Impressions Recruitment Event.

“There are about 40 different employers every year and you can apply to each one of them, whoever you like. Then you get a call from them, a 15-minute introduction interview,” she says.

“I applied to 10 or 11 of them and about eight replied back to me, and Assiniboine Credit Union was one of them. That’s really helpful, me being new in Canada and this is my first step out of college and into the job market.”

Sidhu says she’s grateful for the industry-related training and opportunities she received at RRC.

“I remember seeing a lot of employers again and again at different career events and it really helped me build a bond with them,” she says. “That is how I got my job, even before I graduated. I felt safe and secure that yes, I was doing something right.”

“I would say I really appreciate the College. They give you that platform where you can connect with people and be in the job market.”

Sidhu is currently working to become a permanent resident of Canada. After that process is complete, she plans to further her studies at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

Sidhu, who won the Enterprising Women Award at RRC, says she’d like to start her own business one day. She credits RRC with instilling in her the work ethic she’ll need to be a successful entrepreneur.

“When I got into the program, one of the student enrollment coordinators told me, ‘At Red River, you hit the ground running.’ And that’s very true,” Sidhu says.

“You have a full course load, assignments and deadlines, and in the second year you have the Entrepreneurship Practicum project, which is a lot of work and research. It’s a lot of deadlines and time management that you build over time. It’s like a job.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2004)

Note to our readers:

To thank you for your continued support, we’re offering free Red River College pins to readers of this blog.

How to claim:

• Stop by one of our student stores: The Ox at Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Ave.) or The Mercantile at Roblin Centre (160 Princess St.).
• Mention this promotion.
• Tell the person at the till what you like most about RRC or offer a good (and clean-humoured) joke.

In the event neither store is accessible to you, please email alumni@rrc.ca with your mailing address and a brief line about what RRC means to you, and we’ll have one mailed out. Pins may take up to six to eight weeks to be delivered.

Thank you again for your patronage of the RRC Alumni Blog!

A graduate of Red River College’s Precision Metal Machining program, Bojorquez works as an assistant operator at Winpak Ltd., a company that manufactures and distributes packaging materials.

Bojorquez, who is from Cancun, Mexico, credits RRC with helping him to develop a comprehensive skill-set that has enabled him to be a go-to guy at his workplace.

“What I learned from my teachers is not just how to run the machines, but to respect the machines. You need to take care of them. If you know how they work, you know when something is wrong and you know how to fix it,” says Bojorquez, 36, who graduated from the year-long pre-employment program in 2016.

“I’ve been with Winpak for almost two years, and because of the knowledge that I acquired from Red River, my supervisor always moves me from one area to another to another. I’m one of the few people that knows how to be in every single side of the department.”

In Mexico, Bojorquez worked in the sales department for a hotel and resort operator. With a desire to work with his hands (and hotel/resort work hard to come by in wintery Winnipeg), Bojorquez opted to pursue an entirely different path at RRC.

“I chose Precision Metal Machining because it was the first step for me to go into Mechanical Engineering Technology, which is also at Red River,” Bojorquez says.

“But my family grew — I have two kids now and another coming, so it was not that easy to continue. Then I started working, and everything changes in our life. I want to go back to Red River eventually, but not to go into Mechanical Engineering Technology. Now, I want to do Aerospace Manufacturing.”

Bojorquez should have no problem succeeding when he returns to RRC. In addition to his broad knowledge and strong work ethic, he speaks English very well, and was fairly fluent before arriving in Winnipeg.

Many international students attend RRC’s Language Training Centre prior to entering their preferred program, but Bojorquez was able to skip that step.

That said, he still had to learn the language of machining.

“Going directly into a career path that I had never thought about, that was totally new — and in a different language, it was so complicated,” Bojorquez says.

“Also, my instructor was from Australia, so the English was so different. At the beginning it was so hard to get. I have some friends in class and I asked them, ‘I don’t know if it’s me or my English, but do you understand?’ and my Canadian friends said, ‘I don’t follow it either.’”

Bojorquez eventually got it, graduating from the program with honours.

These days, when he’s not slitting, extruding or doctoring plastic film, Bojorquez likes to get involved with the community.

“When we arrived in Canada, we started volunteering in the Mex Y Can Association. I do some volunteering in Folklorama as well,” he says.

“We like to be engaged in the community. Right now, we volunteer at our daughter’s school and daycare. My daughter is in the powwow club at school, a program to (teach her) more about the Indigenous community.

“I was really surprised when she said to me, ‘I want to go into the powwow club … Is that OK?’ I said ‘Of course.’ That my daughter is interested in that is amazing,”

Bojorquez says it’s important for him to continue his Mexican traditions, while also soaking up as much Canadian culture as he can.

“I want to learn, I want to know, I want to embrace it,” he says. “It’s not enough for me that I’m here. No, I’m part of this land now, so I take care of it and learn from it.”

Adjusting to life in Canada can be difficult, but Bojorquez credits RRC with easing that transition.

“They warn you about the mosquitoes. They warn you about the weather. They teach you how to live here properly, how to embrace the community, to respect and to be respected,” he says.

“For an international student with nobody here, being by yourself for a few weeks or months, totally alone, it’s so hard. But at Red River, you don’t feel alone. They treat you like family.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Note to our readers:

To thank you for your continued support, we’re offering free Red River College pins to readers of this blog.

How to claim:

• Stop by one of our student stores: The Ox at Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Ave.) or The Mercantile at Roblin Centre (160 Princess St.).
• Mention this promotion.
• Tell the person at the till what you like most about RRC or offer a good (and clean-humoured) joke.

In the event neither store is accessible to you, please email alumni@rrc.ca with your mailing address and a brief line about what RRC means to you, and we’ll have one mailed out. Pins may take up to six to eight weeks to be delivered.

Thank you again for your patronage of the RRC Alumni Blog!

A graduate of Red River College’s Health Care Aide program, Tesfamariam works as a health care aide at Extendicare in Winnipeg, helping senior citizens live comfortable lives.

“As a health care aide, I help the residents with their daily living and activities, like cleaning them, bathing them and dressing them,” she says. “I love it. Helping people, I love to do that.”

Tesfamariam, 37, immigrated in 2013 from Asmara, Eritrea. Asmara is the capital and most populous city in the African country, which is located along the Red Sea and bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

“My husband heard from his friend that Red River College was the nicest college here and that it is acceptable everywhere,” Tesfamariam says.

“My husband encouraged me to attend English for Adults classes (at RRC’s Language Training Centre). I told my teacher I was interested in Health Care Aide because it is the shortest program and the requirement with my English level was easy to access. She gave me the details and after six months attending that English class, I got all the requirements, I got College access and then I took the program.”

Health Care Aide is a 20-week certificate program delivered at six RRC campuses. In the program, aspiring health care aides develop the skills they’ll need to assist clients with their physical, emotional and social needs.

Health Care Aide students also receive on-the-job training with six weeks of work placement in health care agencies.

“The way they taught us was very easy, very understandable. It was a very good course,” Tesfamariam says. “We did practice every other lesson, and the six-week practicum after you’re done (the program) was very helpful.”

For the practicum portion of the program, Tesfamariam was placed at Health Sciences Centre and Riverview Health Centre.

“I gained a lot of knowledge from that,” she says.

Tesfamariam has worked at Extendicare for three years now. A Toronto-based company, Extendicare operates long-term care facilities across Canada, with five locations in Winnipeg. Tesfamariam works at Extendicare Vista Park Lodge, located at 144 Novavista Dr.

She says the knowledge she gained at RRC is very applicable to her career.

“I use a lot of what I learned. It helps me to be successful and I’m very confident to do my job,” she says.

Tesfamariam has confidence now, but admits the transition from Africa to Winnipeg wasn’t easy.

“The weather was a challenge. When I was new in 2013, the winter was so cold,” she says. “But with the encouragement of my husband, I accessed everything. It was kind of a cultural shock, the weather, the language, the lifestyle, everything. But it’s OK now, I’m settled.”

Fortunately, Tesfamariam had a little help from her friends.

“I have lots of friends from my community, in my church community as well as my workplace. All of my coworkers are my friends, and I have good neighbours here too,” she says.

Tesfamariam now helps others to adjust to life in Winnipeg. She works with Entry Program, an orientation program for new immigrants offered by Altered Minds Inc, as a community interpreter for those who speak the Tigrignan language.

“I help them by providing information,” she says.

Tesfamariam says her life is going smoothly right now, and she credits the Health Care Aide program and the Language Training Centre for helping that happen.

“I’m so proud of the College, because they taught me the right way,” she says. “When you mention Red River College to an employer, they are willing to accept you and hire you. I’m so happy to have graduated from Red River College.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Pham, who is from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, is a graduate of Red River College’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program.

In addition to his studies, Pham represented his classmates on the College’s Student Advisory Board, participated in RRC’s cultural and language mentorship program and ran for a vice-president position on the RRC Students’ Association executive.

Being an active student “helps international students to be confident, (and gives them) the ability to be different, and to speak out,” says Pham, 25, who graduated from RRC in 2016.

“It was great to be on the board and it was great to run a campaign. It was a memorable time in my life. I never regret going to Red River College because there’s so much opportunity for students, but some students just don’t get to know it well, especially international students.

“My goal is one day I’m going to guide international students to where to go and where to be, and not just in academic life … That’s the best part, to be active and involved. Not just go to school, go home, read a book. No, you have to enjoy every moment.”

Pham, who is openly gay, also created and presided over RRC’s LGBTT* and Friends Club. Off campus, he acted as a tourism coordinator for the Pride Winnipeg Festival and a volunteer coordinator for the Reel Pride Film Festival.

“It’s important to me because it let me know who I am,” says Pham, who was not out before moving to Canada.

“I can be with the community more, because I have no chance to be with the community back home. I see a lot of people at Pride, successful themselves as career people, and now they also give back. They see a responsibility to do something meaningful to other people.”

In 2014, Pham earned an International Student of the Year Award from the provincial government for his contributions in and out of the classroom.

These days, Pham doesn’t have as much time for volunteer work, instead keeping the focus on his career. He works as a hospitality leasing coordinator for Edison Properties, a property management firm in Winnipeg.

Pham’s role at Edison is in the area of furnished suites.

“It’s furnished apartments, so it’s like a hotel, but not actually a hotel,” Pham says. “You can rent for short-term and long-term. I’m doing administration, bookings, a lot of customer service, assisting housekeeping with move-in and move-out schedules, answering emails, concerns, questions, all that fun stuff.”

Pham’s position requires strong communication skills. Prior to entering the Hospitality program, Pham studied at RRC’s Language Training Centre for six months. He says his outgoing nature allowed him to adapt easily to interacting in English.

“I think everybody has a different experience. It was easy for me but maybe not easy for someone else. I would say it is easy for me because I’m active and I’m pretty open-minded,” he says.

“It’s a great thing that you’re surrounded by people who start off like you. They barely know much English, but they slowly emerge into the culture, the language, the slang and all the fun stuff. It’s a great time. I have great friends, great instructors from there. I can’t ask for more.”

While he’s currently concentrating on his career, Pham is still active and outgoing. In fact, he’s currently training at VogueFit to be a competitive pole dancer.

“I’m just an art person. I’m just a dancer,” Pham says. “Trust me, it’s lived with me since when I was little kid. I can’t say it interests me, it’s actually inside me since I was little. It’s just now I have time and I have the financial stability to pursue my dreams.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Bangladesh to Canada is quite the trek, but for Anika Maria, the long road was the shortest route.

Maria is an accountant at MLT Aikins LLP in Winnipeg, a law firm with offices throughout Western Canada.

Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city, Maria chose Red River College’s Business Administration program to accelerate her career in accounting.

“I chose Canada because the education seemed more practical to me,” Maria, 25, says.

“Back home, people actually get a degree and then a masters and then they join the field. I didn’t like that approach. I wanted to start early, I wanted to gain some experience, so I chose to come to Canada because I like the structure better. Here you can do a two-year diploma, get into the workforce, and continue your studies as you’re getting experience.”

A two-year diploma program, Business Administration is structured so second-year students declare a major in either accounting, administration, financial services, marketing or human resources.

Maria majored in accounting and completed the program in 2015. In May 2016, she was hired at St. John’s Music as an accounting manager. She moved into her current position at MLT Aikins in March of last year.

Maria believes the heavy workload in the Business Administration program has helped her move up the accounting ranks quickly.

“It’s intense. Doing six courses in every semester is intense. It doesn’t matter what major; six courses are a lot. Time management was the main thing I learned,” Maria says.

“I was actually working when I was at Red River. I was a full-time student and a part-time worker (as a cashier), so that life is what led me to prioritize things. I have these many hours in a day and I have to crunch in my assignments and go to all my classes. I have to do all of these things and then work as well.”

Not to mention adjusting to life in a foreign land, one that’s often freezing. Fortunately for Maria, she was schooled in English throughout her 12 years of compulsory education in Bangladesh.

“At least language was not a barrier, which is a huge barrier usually,” she says.

Still, a move from South Asia to southern Manitoba doesn’t come without a little culture shock. Maria says RRC did a good job of easing that transition.

“The student advisors and also the International Education department is very friendly,” she says. “If I had a question I would ask around. If something confused me, I would ask my teachers. My teachers were extremely friendly and it was not at all hard to approach them, even if it was something personal.”

“Also, I always looked for volunteering opportunities where I could learn how this culture really works in terms of the workplace. I signed up to be a student mentor at the orientation for 2015 Business Administration students. If they had any questions, they would come up and ask me.”

Despite having graduated, Maria is still answering RRC students’ questions. In 2017, while working at St. John’s Music, she participated in the Directions Conference, which connects RRC students in business and applied arts with industry professionals. Also in 2017, she acted as a judge at the Entrepreneurship Tradeshow, an event where Business Administration students present their year-long entrepreneurial practicum projects.

And most recently, on Feb. 5 of this year, Maria was a speaker at RRC’s convocation ceremony.

“I basically spoke about how they are feeling sitting in their chairs, how they have graduated, how that feeling is, and the confusion of what happens after it,” Maria says. “I gave them the idea that they did the hard work and now they’re going to get the results of it. It’s that easy. You just have to be motivated, you have to keep going at it.”

“People may change their careers, but just the confidence you get from doing something like (Business Administration) preps you for everything to come.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

A native of Shenyang, China, Lu works as a truck and transport mechanic at Custom Truck Sales in Winnipeg, where he diagnoses, maintains and repairs big rigs and medium duty trucks. 

Lu started at Custom Truck Sales shortly after graduating from Red River College’s Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program in 2013. He says the hands-on style of learning he received at RRC set him up for success in the shop. 

“I gained a lot of really valuable knowledge and experience,” says Lu, who also goes by Yibo, his Chinese name.

“I learned a lot in the shop class at Red River College. In the school they have a real truck that you work on. You can do brake jobs, transmission overhaul, engine overhaul, same [as in] the real world. That’s fantastic.”

Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic is a one-year certificate program offered at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus. The entry-level program prepares aspiring mechanics to service and repair heavy mobile equipment, with 60 per cent of the program spent doing hands-on work on heavy machinery.  

Lu, 40, says the instruction he received in the program was top-notch, taught by teachers with plenty of experience and grease on their overalls. 

“I think pretty much all the instructors had been working in this trade for a couple decades, so they were really well-educated and experienced,” he says. “They talk about the real stories that they have been through, and they shared that with us.”

Prior to entering the program, Lu studied at RRC’s Language Training Centre to improve his English skills. He also took part in plenty of RRC initiatives for international students. 

“RRC has an Intercultural Mentorship Program for students from overseas, where international students can share their experience with local students,” Lu says. “I and other local students from the Nursing program, we’d do things like bowling or a dinner night, and she [my mentor] invited my wife and me to her family party on Thanskgiving Day. We shared a lot and it really helped me in adapting to the Canadian lifestyle.”

A former office worker in China, Lu appears to be adjusting to life in the shop quite well. He earned his Red Seal certification as a heavy-duty equipment technician in 2017. 

Lu is also coming up on six years with Custom Truck Sales, a partner of Inland Kenworth. A two-time North American Kenworth Dealer of the Year, the company also has locations in Regina, Saskatoon, Swift Current, Estevan and Brandon, operating in Winnipeg at 357 Oak Point Hwy.

When he’s not in the shop, Lu spends time with his wife and three children. He also belongs to a radio-controlled vehicle club. Surprisingly, he’s not racing R/C trucks, though. 

“I joined the Winnipeg Model Boat Club,” Lu says. “That’s a fantastic club. It has really interesting R/C boats. They have boat sailing every Sunday in the summer at Assiniboine Park [on the Riley Family Duck Pond]. I met them at the train show [Manitoba Mega Train], a hobby show.” 

Lu says he sometimes misses his home in China, but he did get back for a visit last year. He says Winnipeg is a “great city” and that he loves the people here. Lu is also very grateful to RRC for giving him the chance to succeed in Canada. 

“Red River College gave me a very good opportunity to start my career in Canada,” he says. “I’m really thankful for Red River College.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)

Sharmaine San Juan has her finger on the pulse of the Canadian health-care system.

San Juan, who is from Bacoor, Cavite in the Philippines, graduated from Red River College’s Health Care Aide and Health Unit Clerk programs in February 2018.

Upon finishing school, San Juan, 24, immediately obtained employment as nursing assistant at Health Sciences Centre. She currently works as a pharmacy assistant at Keewatin Medical Centre & Pharmacy, as well as at Medisystem Pharmacy.

“In my current career as a pharmacy assistant, (my RRC training) benefitted me a lot because I was exposed to hospital and home-care settings, and that gave me a lot of experience in a fast-paced environment. Also, I gained knowledge of medical terminology and processing physician’s orders,” says San Juan.

“Before, as a nursing assistant, I transcribed medications on a Medication Administration Record sheet. We learned this during the Health Unit Clerk program, the drugs, generic and brand names, the acronyms for drugs, the proper time for administering medications, and also the proper drugs for some diseases.”

Before coming to Canada, San Juan studied pre-med at De La Salle University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology before moving straight to a post-graduate degree from the College of Medicine at the Health Sciences Institute in the Philippines.

In her current role as a pharmacy assistant, San Juan says she performs such tasks as counting and dispensing drugs, maintaining proper drug storage and security, packing and labeling medications, and entering patient information and prescriptions into a computer system.

“I chose to study at Red River College because of what they can offer. They are known for having a high success rate in vocational courses, which is beneficial to people who are seeking fast employment,” she says.

“I chose Health Care Aide and Health Unit Clerk because I think this is the closest to my field, being exposed to patients in a hospital setting. They are also in-demand programs which will benefit me in getting employment fast — that will also help get me through my permanent residency.”

San Juan says she thoroughly enjoyed her time at RRC, in particular the supports extended by both instructors and classmates.

“My experience at the College was phenomenal because from the moment I enrolled, they assisted me,” she says. “I met great mentors on day one. They encouraged us to gain experience by being exposed to the community, such as volunteering.

“The program prepared us with a practicum in different personal care homes. We even went to the hospital in Selkirk for our Health Unit Clerk clinical practicum. By doing all this hands-on, on-the-job training, it made us skilled and confident.”

In addition to the Health Care Aide and Health Unit Clerk programs, San Juan studied at RRC’s Language Training Centre, located in Union Station on Main Street.

“In the intensive English class, my teacher was Mona Abu-Ghoush. I have to say her name because she was one of my close mentors when I moved here. She made my life and class easier,” San Juan says.

“It (the Language Training Centre) helped me a lot. We’re all international students, so basically we’re family here helping each other.”

San Juan says moving to a new country and learning a new culture can be quite trying, even terrifying, noting she once had her wallet and phone stolen while waiting for a bus near the Health Sciences Centre.

Still, she doesn’t regret moving to Winnipeg for a second.

“I don’t regret it because it’s the life I chose and it has made me who I am,” she says. “I wouldn’t be able to be wise if I didn’t experience the hard work, the hard winter, waiting for the bus, stuff like that. This is the stuff that makes us who we are.”

Profile by Jared Story (Creative Communications, 2005)