Amir Moradian Arjmand is a 2015 Lilian To Bursary winner. Amir came to Canada from Tehran in 2015, ready to pave his path to success in this new country. We sat down with Amir to discuss his journey and studies at Ashton for the Diploma in International Trades Management (DITM).
Why did you decide to immigrate to Canada?
I have a background in Mechanical Engineering; I’ve worked in several industries: the design and constructions of power plants in the petrochemical industry and many others. I owned and operated my own business in Iran prior to coming here.
Unfortunately, running a business in Iran has become difficult. Various sanctions were put against Iran for political reasons, but it is the people who struggle because of that. I remember it got to the point that we couldn’t even import important medicine for critical diseases into the country. I had to close my factory and a lot of people lost their jobs because of that. I saw the problem very vividly, but there was not much that I could do about it.
I chose to immigrate to Canada because Canada seems to be a peaceful country, and I thought that I could make a better impact once I was established here.
Do you have advice for people who are planning to immigrate to Canada?
People that decide to immigrate are very brave. They basically lose everything that they’ve built in their home countries and they now have to start from scratch. I think it is important to prepare yourself for this journey if you’re going to immigrate. You should also be emotionally prepared because the journey can be challenging. And you should do your research prior to coming to Canada.
For many people who come here the biggest struggle is understanding the culture of their new home. If you are not used to the environment here, a lot of things take you by surprise. For me, adjusting was even harder because I immigrated with my family and I felt responsible for them. I wanted to make the immigration journey easy for them which meant that I was often the one to handle any difficulties or concerns that came up.
However, I am happy that I came to Canada. At the end of the day, it is a great country to be in.
How did you hear about the Lilian To?
I cannot overemphasize how important it is to do the research. I did a lot of research of Canada, especially on Vancouver since this was the city I wanted to immigrate to. Vancouver is not the most industrial place in Canada: it mostly is oriented towards service-type businesses. However, I wanted to live in BC since the weather here is warmer than in other provinces. So I started looking more into the import and export businesses.
When researching International Trades courses, I found FITT (Forum for International Trade Training). On their website they provided a list of colleges. I made an effort to visit several websites, including Ashton College.
Ashton stood out right away: it was offering full time International Trade programs that included a practicum, and the programs are taught by professionals already working in the area.
On top of that, I heard about the Lilian To Bursary from Ashton’s staff. I didn’t think I would win, but I applied to it, to test my luck. When I found out that I won the bursary, I dropped everything I was doing and started my program at Ashton.
How do you like the program so far?
I am enjoying the courses so far. Everything we learn is very practical and applicable to what we need to know to work in International Trade. The most valuable part of my studies is the fact that the instructors are always eager to share their experiences with us. I could have learnt the textbook by myself, but having access to someone with experience that I can ask for advice or clarification is much more important to me.
Where do you see yourself in the next 5-10 years?
My vision is establishing an ethical large business here in Vancouver. I already have international connections in different parts of Europe and Asia through my previous business, and I believe that in Canada I will be able to expand them even more. My goal is to run a business that will benefit society through convenient importing routes.
I already have the passion and experience in what I do. If you add knowledge to the mixture, I am confident it will lead me to success. The formula is quite simple. Those three ingredients, plus a chance which I got with the Lilian To Bursary.
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