CONVERSATIONS WITH A NEWCOMER | Episode 2 - Meet Marlene
Can you please introduce yourself?
Answer: My name is Marlene Smith. I am from Jamaica. Before coming to Canada. I was an entrepreneur. I had more than one business. I owned a local furniture making business, I ran a small grocery store; and I operated a lunch shop.
What attracted you to Sault Ste. Marie?
Answer: I am what we term a transplant from another City. I migrated to Canada and lived in Ontario for several years; and after leaving the Insurance sector I made a career change. Going back to school was the best option to where my heart was leading me. After completing my college diploma, I became a transfer student to Algoma University and completed a Bachelor of Arts program. I would confidently say that newcomers may find academic exploration and advancement opportunities appealing either at the college or the university as a launching pad to their settlement experience.
What do you love about the Soo now that you live here?
Answer: I enjoy the four seasonal experience Sault offers, especially the fall season with the tapestry of colors. I recently took the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, and it was breathtaking. Witnessing the views, the colors, and the landscape as the train made steady movement through the canyon. I would do it again, and next time with my family.
How have you found the local community in terms of support and inclusiveness? Here you can also talk about your role in the city.
Answer: When I first arrived at the Sault as a student, the only support I knew of was within the university community. I became ware of the Sault Community Career Center (SCCC) and the African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario (ACCANO) in the final year of my program. When I transitioned into the Sault community as a resident, I connected with SCCC for employment support services, and ACCANO provided the opportunity for social and cultural engagements with other community members from African and Caribbean ethnicities. To date, I wear various hats in service to the Sault community. These roles include Chaplain, Ordained Minister, Mental Wellness Educator, Community Diabetes Ambassador, and Child and Youth worker.
What advice would you give to newcomers who are just beginning their journey in Canada? How do you stay connected with your culture and heritage while living here?
Answer: Run with the B’s: Be knowledgeable about the laws of Canada; Be a continued learner for self development; Be courageous in pursuit of future success and prosperity; but not to Be at the expense of loosing your cultural identity. Navigate the spaces between both cultures can be an exciting journey in discovering new ways of being towards finding a balanced way of life.
What resources or services in Sault Ste. Marie have been the most helpful to you as a newcomer?
Answer: Once again finding local services that meet your individual needs such as: employment - employment agencies, for social and community engagement- cultural groups, and churches, for mental wellness support- community services.
Final thoughts?
Answer: As a newcomer, it is a courageous decision one has made to migrate to somewhere unfamiliar in hope of a better and brighter future for self and for family.
Before migration, newcomers had successful businesses, job security, secured social network, and our lived experiences were with people of our own tribe. Now, here they are living in a new country, faced with different social, economic, and environmental challenges that may at times seem overwhelming.
James K. A. Smith’s Book, On the Road with Saint Augustine, refers to Augustine social dilemma with the dichotomy between two cultural identities “Feeling like an alien or an amphibian between two worlds.” Augustine had the same struggles with his feeling of not having a sense of belonging just like what many of us may be experiencing.
Once again, one must be courageous again in seeking out those networks that provide wrap around support in our settlement journey.
Shelly Bazil-Smith
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CONVERSATIONS WITH A NEWCOMER | Episode 2 - Meet Marlene
Can you please introduce yourself?
Answer: My name is Marlene Smith. I am from Jamaica. Before coming to Canada. I was an entrepreneur. I had more than one business. I owned a local furniture making business, I ran a small grocery store; and I operated a lunch shop.
What attracted you to Sault Ste. Marie?
Answer: I am what we term a transplant from another City. I migrated to Canada and lived in Ontario for several years; and after leaving the Insurance sector I made a career change. Going back to school was the best option to where my heart was leading me. After completing my college diploma, I became a transfer student to Algoma University and completed a Bachelor of Arts program. I would confidently say that newcomers may find academic exploration and advancement opportunities appealing either at the college or the university as a launching pad to their settlement experience.
What do you love about the Soo now that you live here?
Answer: I enjoy the four seasonal experience Sault offers, especially the fall season with the tapestry of colors. I recently took the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, and it was breathtaking. Witnessing the views, the colors, and the landscape as the train made steady movement through the canyon. I would do it again, and next time with my family.
How have you found the local community in terms of support and inclusiveness? Here you can also talk about your role in the city.
Answer: When I first arrived at the Sault as a student, the only support I knew of was within the university community. I became ware of the Sault Community Career Center (SCCC) and the African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario (ACCANO) in the final year of my program. When I transitioned into the Sault community as a resident, I connected with SCCC for employment support services, and ACCANO provided the opportunity for social and cultural engagements with other community members from African and Caribbean ethnicities. To date, I wear various hats in service to the Sault community. These roles include Chaplain, Ordained Minister, Mental Wellness Educator, Community Diabetes Ambassador, and Child and Youth worker.
What advice would you give to newcomers who are just beginning their journey in Canada? How do you stay connected with your culture and heritage while living here?
Answer: Run with the B’s: Be knowledgeable about the laws of Canada; Be a continued learner for self development; Be courageous in pursuit of future success and prosperity; but not to Be at the expense of loosing your cultural identity. Navigate the spaces between both cultures can be an exciting journey in discovering new ways of being towards finding a balanced way of life.
What resources or services in Sault Ste. Marie have been the most helpful to you as a newcomer?
Answer: Once again finding local services that meet your individual needs such as: employment - employment agencies, for social and community engagement- cultural groups, and churches, for mental wellness support- community services.
Final thoughts?
Answer: As a newcomer, it is a courageous decision one has made to migrate to somewhere unfamiliar in hope of a better and brighter future for self and for family.
Before migration, newcomers had successful businesses, job security, secured social network, and our lived experiences were with people of our own tribe. Now, here they are living in a new country, faced with different social, economic, and environmental challenges that may at times seem overwhelming.
James K. A. Smith’s Book, On the Road with Saint Augustine, refers to Augustine social dilemma with the dichotomy between two cultural identities “Feeling like an alien or an amphibian between two worlds.” Augustine had the same struggles with his feeling of not having a sense of belonging just like what many of us may be experiencing.
Once again, one must be courageous again in seeking out those networks that provide wrap around support in our settlement journey.