Back in January 2019 a Sikh teenager left the friendly confines of his home in the Indian Province of Punjab for the first time. The issue was not so much that he left, but rather where he went? He came to Canada, specifically Montreal to continue his education. He entered the Telecom Program at the Pearson Electrotechnology Centre with the hopes of graduating with a Diploma on completion of the program which spanned a period of sixteen months.

It was a real shock for Jashanpreet Singh arriving in a new country, new language and probably the worst part, “in the dead of Winter.” He soon befriended Mr. Geoffrey Alleyne, a senior teacher in the Telecom Program. As Mr. Alleyne remarked,” One day he came by and we started to chat, he started telling me how much he missed his family and soon started becoming very chocked up.  I started getting very emotional; however, I tried to keep my composure and told him not to worry, that everything would be alright and that before he knew it, the end would be in sight.”

After a couple of months, Mr. Alleyne noticed quite a change. Jashanpreet became more comfortable; he landed a part-time job and bought a car. He was so enthusiastic about the program.

Mr. Alleyne mentioned that he remembers how he was when he was in the Antennas and Propagation module which was done in late November when it was starting to get quite cold. All the labs were done outside. While most of his colleagues would be bundled up, Jashanpreet would be there with only ”a hoodie”,  doing his work.

During the Covid-19 crisis when online classes started, Jashanpreet asked Mr. Alleyne if he could help him get a job in Telecom while the centre was closed for four weeks.  Mr. Alleyne got him in contact with Mr. Elie Kadoch,  the owner of Phantom Securite inc.  Mr. Alleyne has a great relationship with Mr. Kadoch. Over the years he has always offered students from the Telecom program the opportunity to take their Stages at his company and in most cases, he hires them once the Stage is completed.

Jashanpreet was hired and was so enthusiastic he sent Mr. Alleyne a WhatsApp message together with a short video of him working. “I am feeling proud to be a member of this telecommunications team who are building a school at Terrebonne. They like the quality of my work and my speed is increasing day by day. This is possible because of you. Thank you so much Sir for encouraging me to stick with the program in the beginning when I started losing all hope, I am thankful to you from the core of my heart,”

This past September Jashanpreet graduated after completing his Stage at Phantom Securite Inc. Here he is with his mentor Mr. Geoffrey Alleyne.