Humans of Skills for Change: Ruth Mengistu
Tania is the receptionist and much-loved first face of Skills for Change. While she may have been Canadian born, she also spent a lot of her childhood growing up in Antigua, a small island in the Caribbean. Before shes even asked to describe it, Tanias smile brightens as she begins to paint us a picture of her second home.
Its so beautiful there, Tania says, its a small island and everyoneknows each other. Its tropical all year round… we like to boast that we have got three hundred and sixty-five beautiful beaches.
It happens to be a cold and rainy autumn day in Toronto, but we can almost feel the Antigua sunshine from the way Tania describes it. When asked if she has any plans of visiting again in the future, Tania doesnt hesitate, I go home as often as I can, she says with a smile.
Tania loves helping others and is a self-described people-person. After she graduated with a Bachelors degree from York University she quickly found work helping others by coordinating nursing and home support for a local community agency. She also gained experience working in the addiction and mental health field in Antigua.
I love working with the individual and its important to me that I can be an advocate for positive change, she says. This is how she first found herself becoming involved with Skills for Change.
I first heard of Skills for Change when I returned from Antigua and was researching how to upgrade my skills. I started following the agency and realized that I really believed in what Skills for Change stood for. I loved the idea of working with newcomers and helping them to succeed. That was my motivation for working here. I love to hear the success stories of our clients when they find meaningful work.
Outside of working with Skills for Change, Tania is also a visual artist. She paints with watercolours and stores her work in the Caribbean.
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Humans of Skills for Change is a series highlighting the driving force and inspiration behind our organization: OUR PEOPLE.
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