These Stories Will Warm Up Your Heart: Anderson Bi-Weekly Connect

We will be sharing the following in this week’s connect, hope you enjoy them!

• A message to welcome our new students
• 211 helpline
• A few Anderson stories
• Two short videos and two short stories to brighten your day

Welcome to our new students!

Every week new students start their Anderson journey at one of our five campuses, if you are one of them, welcome! It is truly wonderful to have you with us, we’re so excited to be part of your learning journey.

For those of you who are not aware, you can request two free cloth masks to keep you and your loved ones safe. To claim your free masks, please visit this link and fill in the form, we will then send you the masks within 2 weeks from receiving your request. Please remember to wash the masks before using them.

Ontario 211 Helpline

Ontario 211 is a free, non-emergency helpline that connects you to community and social services in your area 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in over 150 languages.

211 can be a useful resource if you are dealing with stress during the pandemic, as they can refer you to mental health services, support groups, counselling and many more services.

We want to hear your stories!

We are so proud of the achievements by members of Anderson College community, so we wanted to dedicate a space in the Anderson Connect to celebrate these achievements.

This week we would like to share two amazing Anderson stories with you from our Hamilton team.

Angel, a student at our Hamilton campus, shares the story of her move to Canada and how she completed not one, but two programs with Anderson College to help her to pursue her dreams. You can read Angel’s story here.

Rae-Ann is the Campus Director at our Hamilton Campus. Rae-Ann’s life experience, as well as her ability to help and relate to her staff and students has made her the great Campus Director that she is today. You can read Rae-Ann’s story here.

If you or anyone you know within the Anderson Community would like to share your story to inspire someone else, please send us an email at connect@andersoncollege.com. We would love to hear from you!

Short Story 1: One-Armed Champion

An energetic young boy decided to learn judo from a Judo master, despite the fact that he was born without a left arm.

The Judo master taught him a very exciting judo throw on the first week of the training. In the second week, he was asked to practice the same judo move. Every other week, the young boy was taught to practice the same technique over and over again. He could see other students learning different techniques. He couldn’t understand why, even after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.
“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

The Sensei replied, “Just focus on this one throw. This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know.”

The little boy did not quite understand, but continued his training like his Sensei instructed.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. The young boy was terrified, as the other competitiors were well-trained and experienced. Surprising himself and the audience, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third one was a little harder, but the young boy pulled off the technique – the only technique he knew, and won. The fourth round amazingly went the same way and the young boy found himself in the tournament final facing a much bigger, stronger and tougher opponent. For some time in the finals, the young boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt during the match, the referee called for a time out. The referee was about to stop the match, but the Sensei intervened and insisted on letting the boy continue.

After the match resumed, the boy’s opponent made a mistake and dropped his guard. Promptly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won not only the match, but the entire tournament! The boy deftly used his one and only move throughout the tournament and came out as the winner.

On the way home, the Sensei and the boy reviewed every move in each and every match that the young boy had faced. Surprised by his own victory, the boy summoned the courage to ask the Sensei how he was able to win the tournament with only one move.

“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “Firstly, with several months of dedicated practice you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of Judo. Secondly, the only known defense for the move you learned is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

With the boy’s hard work and the Sensei’s wisdom, the boy’s biggest weakness was transformed into his biggest strength.

Short Story 2: Soar Like an Eagle

Did you know that an eagle can see a storm approaching, long before it breaks?

Instead of hiding, the eagle will fly to a high point and wait for the winds to come.

When the storm hits, the eagle sets its wings so that the wind picks it up and lifts it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle soars above it.

The eagle does not escape or hide from the storm, instead it uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises up using the stormy winds which others dread.

When the storms of life come, we can rise above them and soar like the eagle to ride the winds of the storm. Don’t be afraid of the storms or the challenges in your life, instead use them to lift you higher.