Education/training
Colombian finds her way in CanadaBlending into a new culture is not easy, especially if you don't speak the language or don't know much about the country. ANDREA AGUIRRE |
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 [ 2006-02-22 ] |
Vivian Ortiz, a refugee claimant from Colombia, takes a break from her studies at Centennial College in (where else?) a coffee shop. She's keen to learn English quickly and get on with her education as a graphic designer.
Ortiz came from the small city of Armenia in Colombia. It's a country known not only for producing one of the best varieties of coffee in the world, but also for its violent political and economic struggles that have forced thousands of Colombians to flee their nation and seek asylum in other countries.
Arriving in Canada as a refugee claimant in August 2004, Ortiz recalls all the pre-conceived notions she had heard back home.
"I didn't know much about Canada before I came here. I thought of it as a country full of igloos where it was winter all year long. I thought there was no summer, but 12 months of cold and snow."
Protected-person status
But she also knew Canada is a country recognized worldwide for its protection of human rights, something she benefited from as she was granted protected-person status last March. She will receive her permanent resident card next month.
During her first year in Canada, Ortiz lived in London, Ont., where she had some distant family. There, she took some ESL classes through not-for-profit organizations that didn't request a study permit. Once Ortiz received her permit she started taking ESL classes in the public school system.
Before coming to Canada, Ortiz was majoring in communications at a prestigious private university in Bogota, Colombia. She knew that if she wanted to pursue postsecondary education in Canada and find rewarding employment, she had to learn English and she had to do it quickly.
"My motivation to apply to the English for Academic Purposes program at Centennial College was to focus on reaching my long-term goal of going back to university and obtaining a degree in graphic design. If I had kept going to a public ESL school, I would have learned English but it would have taken a lot longer," Ortiz says.
Her decision to go to college came with many questions. How was she going to pay for it? Was she willing to move to Toronto where she didn't know anyone?
She discovered that the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities had extended OSAP eligibility to refugees. That meant she could apply for a student loan to cover tuition, books and living expenses.
Relocating to Toronto to attend Centennial wasn't hard; she knew the city had many good things to offer. "Moving to Toronto has allowed me to get that city energy that makes you wake up early every morning to get things done, to learn more," Ortiz says.
"Demanding program"
She's confident she made the right decision. "The English for Academic Purposes program has exceeded my expectations. It's a very demanding program, but it has encouraged me to do my best. It has also given me the necessary tools to communicate in English the way I wanted to."
Centennial's one-year program emphasizes speaking, listening, effective writing and reading comprehension in an intense format that's geared to each learner. Students get group and team assignments, practical exercises, field trips and individualized faculty attention and guidance.
"The program has not only taught me English, it has prepared me to get into the Canadian university or college system. It has allowed me to really learn about Canada. It has made me more confident about my language skills," Ortiz says.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Ortiz is applying to Centennial's Graphic Design Media program for next fall.
Andrea Aguirre is a student in Centennial College's Corporate Communications and Public Relations program.
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