Engineer Newcomer to Living Her Cardiology Technologist Dream: Akshatha’s Story

At Anderson College, we are constantly amazed by the courage of our students, faculty, and staff. In December 2021 we ran a “My Courageous Moment” story-gathering campaign to celebrate our students, their strength, the moments that have defined their lives and the people who have motivated them to overcome and succeed.

In sharing our stories, we realize we are not alone and are often inspired to recognize, or to find, our own extraordinary courage. We hope the following story moves you, as it has our Anderson family.

I came to Canada as a permanent resident, within the under-skilled worker program, with my four-year-old child, just the two of us, in August 2019. I began working at Kumon teaching a newcomer program called “Women in Technology” from ACCES Employment, as I’m an Engineer with 9 years of experience in the IT industry. Having no relatives here and few friends, I had bad experiences living in shared accommodations with a child. I had a very difficult time managing caring for my child while also working at Kumon. This was due to the lack of daycare support while I was working until 9:00 pm at night.

“I knew heart attacks were the number one cause of death all over the world and I always wanted to work in healthcare and save lives.”

In December of 2019, I had no choice but to take my child back to my home country and then come back in March 2020 to attend my first job fair. This is where I encountered Anderson College’s program “Cardiology Technologist”. I was excited to know more about it as I always wanted to be a Cardiologist; I knew heart attacks were the number one cause of death all over the world and I always wanted to work in healthcare and save lives. However, due to religious beliefs, my mother did not allow me to study medicine, instead she forced me to study engineering.

When I spoke to Anderson’s Admissions Advisor, Judith Freidman, she let me know the program was not specifically for IT people, but for those interested in technology in the medical field. I explained to her about my dream of becoming a doctor, especially a Cardiologist and how interested I was. I added that I used to always volunteer at software companies as an Emergency Response team member and educated everyone I could about heart attacks and their symptoms. I convinced Judith I was a good fit, as I had good grades throughout my studies. Later, I was selected for the course.

“I decided to join the Cardiology Technologist program, to start a new career even though I had a lot of weighing responsibilities.”

Before being accepted into the program, I had received two job offers from software companies. All my friends and family were against me leaving a high-paying software job to take up this course as it would not pay me as much as an IT job. However, my sister supported me. So, after several days of research and thinking, I decided to join the Cardiology Technologist program, to start a new career even though I had a lot of weighing responsibilities.

This decision, I feel, is “My Courageous Moment” as I believe, God will show a way when we have good intentions and want to pursue our dreams with hard work. Finally, after 1.5 years, I successfully completed the course and started my practicum. I am really enjoying my work helping patients, with a smile and positivity. I thank Ms. Heather Peart and Anderson College for giving me a great opportunity to pursue my dreams.

The inspiring idea I’d like to leave those reading with is… Never give up on your dreams; there will always be a way to pursue your dreams and there is no age limit to educate yourself and upgrade your skills. So always stay positive and hopeful. One day, you will get an opportunity to fulfill your dreams. Good Luck everyone!

Akshatha H.

Still determining how your passions and interests can become your career? Take the “Anderson College Medical Professional Career Training Readiness Quiz”.

To learn more about our Cardiology Technology program or our 30+ leading-edge programs to help you take life to the next level of success, book a virtual appointment with our Admissions Team today!