The job you want is out there.
The education you need to get it is right here.

When explaining wireless technology, Robin Paul makes sure to use layman’s terms so as not to confuse. This sensitivity to his audience is skill he picked up in his native India working as a telephone tech support agent for American users of Hewlett Packard products. Three years later he finds himself solving much more complex IT problems. And instead of resolving issues over the phone, he does so in person in the heart of Toronto’s financial district.

As a client services representative for Toronto’s Data Impeccable Inc., Robin is responsible for keeping a handful of small to medium-sized firms connected and communicative at all times. This could include setting up their wireless networks or resolving issues related to their computers, servers, handheld devices, software applications or databases—anything IT-related.

So how does someone go from working in a call centre in New Delhi to Toronto’s Bay St.? There are many contributing factors. First, Robin benefited from a strong English-based education in his birthplace of Punjab, India. Next, he beat out fierce competition to get an electronics engineering degree. Then he gathered some valuable IT-related work experience with a multi-national corporation. But those elements alone would not have gotten him his current job. "George Brown College was the crucial link," he says.

In 2006 he started searching online for programs to expand his IT knowledge. He decided on George Brown’s one-year, post-graduate Wireless Technology program. "The program offered practical courses at an affordable cost within a manageable amount of time. I also wanted to study in a place I could see myself living in afterwards. George Brown is located in the heart of a multicultural city, which was important to me."

After adjusting to the obligatory weather shock (he arrived in Canada without a warm jacket in January of 2007), he jumped right into his studies, which he found stimulating and relevant. "All of the learning was project-based. Instead of traditional classrooms, we were taught in industry standard laboratories and we worked in teams as you would in the real world," he says.

When the path from school to career takes unexpected twists and turns, and creates confusion about which way to go, George Brown College can be a valuable signpost that provides the right direction.

That was the case in 2006 for Sheida Richardson, then a recent high school graduate working in a retail store and wondering what to do next. With no academic interest or career goal in mind, the Oakville native had chosen to delay post-secondary school to explore her options. About a year into her educational hiatus, however, she began feeling unsettled and eager for something new, so she started investigating educational options. Specifically, she was looking for a broad-based program offered within a relatively condensed time frame that could potentially propel her to more specialized learning. She found her fit in George Brown’s General Arts and Science program, a two-year liberal arts diploma program that exposes students to subjects within the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and technology. "I liked that I’d be able to pick out courses that interested me, but also take ones I wasn’t sure about, so that I could figure out what I liked most," says Richardson, 23.

In the program, Richardson took courses in areas such as mathematics, sociology, Canadian literature, environmental science, history, geography and politics. The last of these was most fascinating to Richardson, she says, because it offered her a new way of thinking about worldwide political systems and behaviour, and provided her with a long-term academic goal. "Political science opened my eyes to how politics affects the way the world operates. It was really interesting stuff that I wanted to pursue further," she says.

Richardson was also able to develop her abilities in research, writing, critical thinking and oral communication – the last of which had always proved vexing due to her somewhat reserved nature. But a course that focused entirely on public speaking immersed her in the skill and before long she found herself becoming comfortable with expressing herself to her classmates. "It put me completely out of my comfort zone, but it was good because I picked up skills that I can use anywhere."

Richardson’s experience at George Brown reflects her remarkable transformation from unsure high school graduate to successful, focused and self-assured college graduate. Her inclusion on the Dean’s list for both years in the program, and her receipt, upon graduating in 2008, of the Dean’s Medal in recognition of her high marks and positive influence on her peers, speak to her significant academic and social accomplishments.

Moreover, Richardson discovered her aspirations for the future: she’s currently halfway through completing a double-major degree in political science and criminology at the University of Toronto. Her transition to university was made easier through the support of a particularly influential George Brown instructor, who offered her advice and helped her problem-solve throughout her first year. Also helpful was the fact that she was able to apply two of her George Brown diploma credits to her programming, which allows her to complete her degree at a more relaxed pace. Richardson continues to excel – she’s also made the Dean’s list at U of T for the last two years – and, upon finishing her degree, she’d like to pursue law studies. She attributes her current success to having found her academic niche, and having developed strong study, writing and organizational skills at George Brown.

Says Richardson: "My friends ask me how I stay so organized, and how I write and study so well. I tell them I spent two years at George Brown and that’s where I learned everything I know."