By most standards Temitope Adediji – known by her family and friends as “Temi” – would be considered a highly educated woman with a professional work history. Before leaving Nigeria, with degrees in Communication and Language Arts and Communication and Media Technology, and a Masters in Communication and Media Performance, she worked at the Educational Advancement Centre in Ibadan.

Unfortunately, however, these did not guarantee her a job in Canada and she was unsuccessful in finding a business and administrative position in Saskatoon.

Temi immigrated to Saskatoon from Nigeria in 2014 with her husband, a young child, and was pregnant with her second. With a growing family, no driver’s license, and a husband who worked many hours a week and wasn’t available to provide regular transportation, one of Temi’s first challenges here was mobility.

About six months after arriving, Temi learned from a friend about Quint’s employment-related programming and services. In January 2015, she registered with our Core Neighbourhoods at Work (CNAW) program, attended our Learner’s license program intake, and was immediately accepted. Temi was diligent in her studies and within 10 days of being accepted, wrote her learner’s exam and passed!

From there, Temi quickly developed a relationship with CNAW and readily accessed any support we offered. Most notably, she completed our Job Readiness Workshop, attended our Community Job Fair, and participated in a research project for job seekers, and received one-on-one support in editing her resume, writing cover letters, and job searching.

Eventually, Temi found a job with Best Buy as a Customer Service Representative – but shortly after starting, there were a series of lay-offs that included Temi.

This is when she decided that it would be in her best interests to go back to school for a Canadian diploma. Temi felt that she needed either Canadian work experience or Canadian education if she wanted to work in her field, so she applied for the Business Administration course with Saskatoon Business College. She attended classes full-time despite being a busy mom.

In the past year, Temi finished her diploma and attended our Driver’s License Program as soon as she was qualified. Once again she was immediately accepted and was successful in obtaining her Class 5 Driver’s license! And most recently, she has been successful in obtaining a position with Environment Canada.

We are very proud at Quint of Temi and how much she has achieved in her short time in Canada – she is truly inspiring. Regardless of setbacks faced, she did everything she could to ensure her family’s success in her chosen country. She didn’t waste any time complaining or feeling defeated, but instead formulated a plan to achieve her goals. She is a person that never gives up, attacks obstacles head on, and never makes excuses.

Temi recognizes that while her patience, resilience, and determination gave her the ability to overcome her obstacles, she also attributes her success to Quint’s programs and staff. She believes that she could not have accomplished all of her goals without the training, counselling, and support that Quint’s Employment Coordinators provided her.

Temi regularly refers other newcomers to Quint. She hopes to someday “replicate the love and care that she found at Quint Development” for others who need this support.

Congratulations Temi!