Staff Member | Former Student Refugee | Board Member As a member of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) which helps student refugees integrate into Canada, she understands what it’s like to have a second chance. A former WUSC sponsored student refugee, Nsekera was forced to flee her native Burundi in 1997 after completing four academic years during a civil war. When it became too dangerous to continue, she was selected as a youth delegate for international peace training in South Africa and eventually qualified for a WUSC-UBC sponsorship and scholarship. She graduated with a BSc in 2000 and has worked for the past five years as a staff member at UBC’s School of Social Work and Family Studies. Nsekera is now planning to continue her student career with a Master of Social Work, a degree that she hopes will allow her to combine interests in refugee and immigration issues with international development. She plans to use it to work with students to look beyond both personal limitations and global boundaries to create opportunity and hope. And she’s living by the principle that to use a gift, you have to share it. |
Pascaline Nsekera has a gift to share.