Vancouver PCG Conducts Mentorship Session for Filipino Migrant Workers and International Students in Kelowna

Mr. Stephen Andrada, Board of Director, Committee on Education, Employment, and Bridging Support Programs of UPAABC, moderates the Mentorship Session for Filipino Migrant Workers and Filipino International Students, held back to back with the Migrant Workers Assembly 2024 in Kelowna

09 July 2024 – A Mentorship Session for Filipino Migrant Workers and International Students followed the Migrant Workers Assembly 2024, held at the Nechako Gathering,   University of British Columbia - Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC on 06 July 2024.  Organized by the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in British Columbia (UPAABC), and supported by the Migrant Workers Office - Vancouver and Overseas Filipino Workers Welfare Administration - Vancouver, this was the 2nd mentorship session for the year, and the 5th overall, since the program started last year.

Consul General Arlene Magno explained, in her opening remarks, that the mentorship sessions were actually an offshoot of a major conference organized for Filipino international students in February 2023, in recognition of their growing presence in the country and importance as a new component of the Filipino diaspora in Canada. The panelists who are members of the UPAABC, representing various industries, share their respective journeys and experiences on how they rose above their settlement challenges and adjusted to life in Canada.

Resource Speakers during the Mentorship Session (clockwise from the top) : Project Management and Financial Services by Ms. Vickie Rubio Buechler, Project Manager, Fujitec Canada, Inc.  and Life Licensed Insurance Agent of Greatway Financial; Trade and Entrepreneurship by Ms. Rhona Doria, Event & Sponsorship Coordinator, Surrey Board of Trade and Owner, Hablon Styles & Hues; Accounting and Audit by Ms. Mary Anthonette Tecson, Program Manager, Employment Services of Langley Community Services Society; Settlement and Employment and Non-Linear Careers by Mr. Melvin Q. Magno, Career Specialist of NPower Canada; and, Careers in Public Services by Mr. Ahmed Tillah II, Director of Foundation for a Path Forward Vancouver Metropolitan Area.

Ms. Vickie Rubio-Buechler poses with the raffle winners of  her donated IKIGAI books on the IKIGAI philosophy of life’s purpose

Consul General Arlene T. Magno (4L) poses with Mr. Jasper Mallonga, Vice President of UPAABC (leftmost), Mr. Stephen Andrada (2L) who moderated the session, and mentors, Ms. Vickie Rubio Buechler (3L), Ms. Rhona Doria (4R), Ms. Mary Anthonette Tecson (3R), Mr. Ahmed Tillah II (2R), and  Mr. Melvin Magno (rightmost), after the awarding of certificates of appreciation.