‘Extraordinary:’ One London woman’s winding road to university

Born in Pakistan, Nida Yasmin moved to Malaysia as a teenager before immigrating to Canada two years ago.

Behind her, the 22-year-old Londoner had a patchwork education.

In Malaysia, she didn’t even go to school for Grades 7 through 9.

To finally get her high school diploma, Yasmin, who wants to become a doctor, needed more courses.

In London, she studied subjects such as math and English at the GA Wheelable Centre, the area public school board’s center for adult and continuing education. Many newcomers to the city wind up at Wheel, to learn language and other skills needed for their new lives here.

Despite struggling with English, Yasmin has now been accepted into Western University’s highly-competitive medical sciences program.

What helped her finally get there, she says, was another program — a new partnership between the Thames Valley District school board and Brescia University College at Western — that helps adult women, who hope to go on in higher education, finish up high school.

Called the School Within a University, the program allows students to complete their high school credits at Brescia, a women’s affiliate of Western, and earn a university degree credit.

“Instead of having to go into a high school classroom to study, they complete their studies in a university setting,” said Brescia spokesperson Rachel Macaulay.

Yasmin excelled in the program, graduating with 90 per cent or more in each course and 99 per cent in math.

“The Brescia course helped me a lot in terms of communication. I was not confident with my communication skills,” she said.

Geared to mature women, the program began this year with 10 women. Only half completed it, with factors away from school often the explanation.

“In many of these cases, it was issues with transportation, employment and circumstance that kept the women from returning,” said Macaulay.

As part of their studies, the students take a tuition-free, university-level course called Brescia Bold, taught by the school’s president, Lauretta Frederking.

“It was designed to foster confidence and show them they can belong in a university setting and encourage them to see themselves in the broader landscape of education,” Macaulay said. “Access to education has been a top priority for our university — that is why it was created in the first place.”

Given the hurdles Yasmin faced, with “an eclectic educational background” and having to “piece together her high school diploma,” her acceptance into medical sciences at Western is “extraordinary,” Macaulay said.

“It is one of the most competitive programs; it was really amazing for her to do that,” she said.

Yasmin said she was inspired by Canada’s multiculturalism, “its diversity (and) how everything happened.”

“It was very motivational,” she said.

Frederking, she said, encouraged her to take part in discussions “even before I was confident enough to do so.”

The high school courses were taught by Thames Valley instructor Lizz Thibodeau.

“Everyone has embraced learning from each other, and they are very open to understanding the diverse perspectives discussed,” she said.

For more information visit www.tvdsb.ca/en/programs/school-within-a-university-brescia.aspx.

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