Rebeca Henriquez
Social Work
It’s all in the transition
In her home country of El Salvador, Rebeca Henriquez studied law.
However, not long after her arrival in Canada in 2010, the then-21 year old realized she was going to need lessons in laws of other kinds. Take, for example, the rules of English grammar, or those of Canadian social behaviour. She found the answers she was looking for in NorQuest College’s Youth in Transition program (YIT). The full-time program focuses on increasing academic and personal communication skills for youths age 17 to 25 in preparation for enrollment into an adult post-secondary learning environment.
“When I came here I didn’t know English that well,” she says. “The Youth in Transition program helped me with my English, with my math, with writing, with reading… It motivated me to do things like to work hard for the things I want. And it taught me Canadian values, and how to meet other people here because I didn’t know anyone.”
After completing the program she began taking upgrading classes at NorQuest. With her communications skills and confidence boosted, she enrolled in the college’s social work program in the fall of 2013 with a future eye on helping people with similar backgrounds to her own.
“I want to work with immigrants,” she says. “That is my goal. I will be able to help them because I have already passed through that experience.”
The Youth in Transition program helped me with my English, with my math, with writing, with reading… It motivated me to do things like to work hard for the things I want.