Student Profile Series: From Mexico City to Brandon, Lagarda Acosta finds new home in Wheat City

“I’M SUPER HAPPY HERE”

“You are friendly with newcomers, and the lifestyle here is quiet. You live in peace…. When we go to the park, I am not checking every five seconds if someone is around, or if it is dangerous. I know here, people take care of kids, even if they’re not their kids. So, that’s why now we love to live here.”

That’s Samantha Lagarda Acosta, explaining her decision to leave a good job in Mexico City and begin a new life in Brandon with her husband and children.

“In Mexico, usually we think of Canada. We think Vancouver or Toronto, which are bigger,” she says. “But I started looking, and I thought to myself. ‘Why would we move from a huge city to another huge city?’”

“I started doing my research and I hired an immigration consultant to do my research and all my paperwork. She told me about Manitoba, so I started looking at the options between Assiniboine and Red River, maybe in Winnipeg. But then, I thought ‘Brandon will be a good place,’ maybe a short distance between my home and the school, my home and the job. So, that’s why I chose Brandon.”

With a bachelor’s degree in international trade and previous work experience as both a customs officer and executive assistant to the CEO of a large Mexican company, Samantha considered a number of business-related programs offered by Assiniboine.

“More than two or three programs were related with my work experience but, at the end, I chose the Office Management program.”

She began her studies in 2021, graduated in 2023 and now works as a salary and benefits administrator in Assiniboine’s Human Resources department.

“In the summer of 2022, instead of going back to Mexico and spending my summer there, I decided to stay. I applied for an internship here [at Assiniboine] in Human Resources, and I got the internship. I worked here from January to September of 2022, and that was great because here in HR, they know me, they know how I work, my previous experience.”

“Salary and benefits has been great,” she adds. “This is a great place to work because the salary, even the starting salary, is higher than the rest of the industry. And the benefits, like having Blue Cross and all the paid holidays, all those kinds of benefits are great. Not all employers offer that.

Asked if she has other longer-term career goals, Samantha says that “I’m super happy here, to be honest. What’s very nice about Assiniboine, the college lets you grow. You can move from one position to another position. You can apply and they will let you move, and you can try different positions across time. I see myself here until retirement.”

For others who are thinking about attending Assiniboine as international students, Samantha says “It could be very scary and challenging but, at the same time, I would invite people to see it as a new chance. You are giving yourself a chance to move to a different place and be a different person if you want.”

“Don’t give up,” she adds. “Think about why you took the decision to move to Canada, and be here. There are ups and downs, especially emotional, but, at the end, everything will be worth it when you get what you are looking for.”