When I came to Canada from the Philippines, I believed studying at university would help me better integrate into Canadian society. I was right, but it wasn’t easy. I worked full-time, so it took seven years to complete my degree. And it wasn’t until later in my program, when my vision issues and limb pain were getting worse, that I decided to ask for help.
When I told my learning specialist in MacEwan’s Access and Disability Resources (ADR) that I had been having eye issues for a long time, they replied, “And you’ve been doing this all on your own until now?” in a tone filled with worry and concern. Working with ADR showed me that my learning issues are not weaknesses and that it isn’t embarrassing to ask for help. They helped me access assistance during classes and exams, software (and a laptop bursary so the software would work better), advice on lighting, and apps that allowed me to listen to my text and notes, and give my eyes a break. To be honest, I regret not asking for their assistance sooner.
For more than seven years, my whole life revolved around school and work, but during my final year, I studied in South Korea for a month over the summer. It was the most memorable experience of my life, and ADR and MacEwan International worked together to prepare and support me throughout the process – I felt like they were more worried about me than I was about myself!
ADR provided letters that I could give my professors in Korea to advise them of my condition, and the advisors from MacEwan International gave me amazing tips and advice about living in South Korea. They told me to enjoy myself and also to make sure that I had everything that I might need – eyeglasses, migraine glasses, sunglasses, pain medication – and not to push myself too much. The advisors from both offices kept in touch and checked in on me regularly. Even though they were thousands of miles away, I felt so supported.
Right now, I’m saving up for my next trip to Korea, focusing on my work as an office assistant in a legal department downtown, making the most of post-university life and beginning the preparations to apply for grad school in two years. I hope to study counselling or gender studies.
– Lorena Rafal, Bachelor of Arts, Sociology ’24