Stettler Learning Centre welcomes Mariia Zinets.
Mariia relocated to Canada about two years ago from Ukraine.
With the war going on in Ukraine since 2014, Marilia and her husband, Dmytro, decided to move to Canada to build a safe and stable life after she completed college.
With the recent events in Ukraine, she is really happy they made the decision.
Zinets feels safe and has been able to provide a home for her sister Oksana as well.
Zinets learned about the Stettler Learning Centre from her husband’s coworker.
The coworker had great experience working with a tutor, and built a friendship, as well as helping Zinets pass the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program exam for her permanent residence application.
Zinets then found out that the Learning Centre provided all kinds of support for newcomers via its website.
Zinets and her husband started living in Gadsby before later moving to Stettler. She attended the Learning Centre’s Employment Preparation program.
This program assists people in writing resumes, getting ready for interviews and more importantly prepares people for a new start mentally. Through this program and the Stettler Learning Centre, it helped Zinets build her confidence and get her first job in Canada as a Customer Experience Associate at Walmart in Stettler.
She has recently contacted the Learning Centre as she has decided to take the International English Language Testing System exam.
The Learning Centre was able to help her!
Zinets is now working with a great tutor to prepare her for this exam and while she works at Wm. E. Hay Secondary Campus as a Learning Commons Facilitator and continues to work at Walmart part-time.
Zinets says she feels blessed to work in the school and have the opportunity to help kids.
Zinets spearheaded a program at Wm. E. Hay which helps newcomer students to build their English skills so they can be successful in their high school education. This daily tutoring is building their confidence and she hopes to increase the time she spends with them next semester.
Zinets is very happy where she is right now, and hopes that the future will only get better. She hopes she’s able to visit her parents back in the Ukraine once the war is over.