I am 29 years of age, an international student from the Philippines, taking Administrative Professional (AP) at West Island Career Centre under the jurisdiction of Lester B. Pearson School Board. From a young age, I have been struggling when it comes to education. My parents did not have enough financial resources to finance my studies. At the age of 10, I started helping my parents. I washed my Aunt's clothes just to get money for allowance. When I reached high school, I did a lot of work like cleaning my Uncle's backyard, and washing my relatives' clothes. I finished my high school while working since my father was a farmer and my mother a housewife. Their earnings were not enough to finance our school needs and were intended only for our food. We are six children in the family and that is why my parents worked hard for our survival. After I finished my high school, I worked as a part-time service crew in Jollibee Tagbilaran, after one year of working in the food chain, I enrolled in Holy Name University and got a scholarship. I was accepted as a janitorial working scholar. Every day from 5-7 a.m., I cleaned the school campus, at 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I had my academic classes, and from 5:00-10 p.m. I had night work. After 5 years of going to school, I finally got my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Human Resources Development Management. Despite the hardships in life I still survived the battle. Three days after my graduation, I started applying for work for me to earn money to help my parents as well as my siblings. Luckily, I got hired as a Manager Trainee in Island City Mall. After 2 months, I got promoted to a Purchasing Officer. One year after, I got hired as a Manager in McDonald's Bohol, Philippines. Life has been so good to me. I got an offer from a company as a Head Coordinator and I grabbed the opportunity this enabled me to help my family more in terms of financial needs. I applied for a student visa in Canada, even though I did not have enough financial resources. I am the kind of person with a high belief that in every problem there is a solution and God will provide to those who believe in himself. Luckily my student visa was approved. I landed in Canada last January 1, 2018. After 2 weeks I got hired and presently I am working at McDonald's during weekends. From 8:30-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, I have my academic classes. From 5:00-7:00 p.m., I have my French class at EMULCQ École de Francisation. During Saturday and Sunday, I work at McDonald's. Despite my busy schedule, I still manage to be an active student at school in every activity. In fact, I was invited to attend the “Adult Learner's Gala” initiated by the school and got an award for my hard work, dedication and passion. The event was attended by selected students, school administrators and staff. I also was a volunteer at school during the recent “Open House”; it was an event where prospective students came to the centre to learn about the programs offered by the school. I was also one of the presenters during the “Adult Learner's Talent show” for Adult Learner`s Week at school which was held in April 2018. Recently, I was appointed as a student representative for the School's Governing Board and now I am an official member. I was worried because the school was telling me that I need to pay half of my tuition or else I will be sent back to my country. I made a request letter and addressed to the president of the international department. Luckily, they approved my request and allowed me to pay my tuition in four installments. I felt blessed that time and said to myself that there is no harm in trying. My problems do not end there because my Certificat d'acceptation du Quebec pour etudes (CAQ) and Student visa will be expired on December 30, 2018. Therefore, I gathered all the necessary documents and applied for the extension. After a couple of months of waiting for the result, I received the approval of my CAQ and student visa extension, which allows me to continue my studies until April 2019 and I can have my open work permit after course done. I also applied for the McDonald's scholarship writing essay contest and luckily, I got selected and won a prize amounting to $ 750, which was a big help for me as I still have the balance to pay for my tuition. I was trying to search the internet for writing essay contest and I found this Biopage.com. I always take a chance, and think positive. Sometimes it is not about winning, it is about trying.