On October 28, 2016, Sheridan’s Academic Upgrading (AU) Program held its 2016 Graduation Ceremony. From May 2015 to August 2016, 421 students completed Academic Upgrading. The Academic Upgrading program is funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development which prepares students to pathway into diploma level programs, employment, or apprenticeship.
From the current group of graduates, 184 students have started or will start programs at Sheridan College, 75 students have gone to other colleges, and many others became employed. One of the graduates and keynote speaker, George Brownridge, shared his experience:
“I came to Canada as a refugee from Nigeria about two years ago. I got here feeling psychologically confused and empty. Psychologically confused because of the circumstances that brought me and my family here in the first place and the feeling of emptiness because everything seemed new to me. Even when I knew I could start over here, I still felt very alone. That was my state of mind when I walked through the doors of the Sheridan College academic upgrading programme. If there is a God somewhere, maybe he was very involved in my business because I met some of the most wonderful people ever! I met a tall, beautiful lady who never carried herself with that air of academic sophistication but rather would smile in class, in the hallway, in the office and everywhere. I would ask myself ’maybe she smiles when she sleeps as well‘. Her kind words and actions caught me.“
George attributed his success in the Program to the knowledge and compassion of his teachers, Nancy Harmer, Janet Huband, and Pawandeep Kaur, and Program Support Specialist, Emily Heipel. “The entire staff in this programme I believe were handpicked from heaven to make all this happen”, said George in his keynote speech. And he concluded, “I always looked forward to going to class because with every lesson we did, I would find a small piece of myself, and this has finally culminated to be the man you see before you today. In a practical sense, the programme has made me believe that there is nothing impossible when you decide to put your mind to work. For this I say a big thank you”. George will start the Practical Nursing Program at Centennial College in January 2017. In the graduation photo below, from the left, Nancy Harmer, AU Math Professor, George Brownridge, and his wife, Angela, currently an AU student at STC.
