I was born in Colombia. My family was middle class and made up of mom, dad, and 4 more siblings. In the late 1980s my family lost everything due to the country’s economic difficulties and civil war related to narco-traffic and guerrillas. In 1988, my parents divorced, and my mom and siblings and I ended up living in a rundown house infested with insects and even some mice. We could only afford to buy potatoes and rice. Milk was a luxury. 

 My maternal family stepped in to help us out. My oldest sister Alba Rocio became a doctor and my youngest brother Ricardo an engineer while my older brother Julian got married. My mother was able to send my youngest sister Lina Maria to university where she would later graduate as an engineer. I had been accepted in the dentistry program at a University far from my home town but we had no money to maintain my studies. I had to quit two months after the program started and came back to my home town to take on any menial job I could to help my mom.

My aunt, who arrived at Canada in the 1970s, offered to help me emigrate. I came to Canada in 1991 with no post secondary education, zero English skill, and no money. I came to Canada under the Assisted Relatives category’ so getting the visa was easy.

Canada needed factory workers so while still in Colombia I took a 1-year apprenticeship program to learn a trade as a factory worker. This turned out to be worthless as when I came to Canada, the country was in the middle of a recession that had started in 1989 and would end in 1992. Further, I had zero knowledge of any of Canada’s official languages. The only job I got was cleaning floors in restaurants. I did that for almost four years.

In my third year in Canada, I realized that I had to do something with my life given that I come from an educated family. But I had no idea what to do or study. My aunt suggested that I learn how to fix TVs because “she had a friend who was doing ok with that”. I enrolled and 6 months later was asked to meet the Dean who told me that I was the worst student ever, and that I could never graduate with my incredibly low marks. 

Back home, if anybody needed their TV fixed we all would say that we can fix it – and somehow we would. So there I was: cleaning floors and not even able to fix a TV.  I quit the studies with my morale on the floor. I decided to really think hard on what I wanted to do when I was a teenager and go for it. I knew the answer: International business with Governments. However I still did not speak English well enough, had no money, and was afraid to apply to University. 

In the summer of 1996, I applied to Seneca College to study international trade with classes starting in September. I was not accepted  The restaurant where I was working as a cleaner was only a 15 minute walking distance from the college. Every day, for ten consecutive days, I would go to the reception desk of the college and beg the receptionist to help me. This lovely lady would always reply: “Mauricio, I am just the receptionist and there is nothing I can do. There is me and below me, the cleaners. Learn more English and apply next year”. Everyday the same routine for ten days. On day eleventh, that lady asked me to do a test for her. It thought it was just an excuse to get rid of me, but I had nothing to lose. After a few questions, oral and written, she put a stamp on a document and said “Congratulations Mauricio, you start the classes in two weeks”. Since then, I have never given up. I graduated with high honours with two different diplomas: one in International Business Administration and another in Customs Administration. For most students, getting two diplomas take five years. It took me three and I was top of the class. My friends still remind me that I never had time for them during those years. I was only focused on studying.

Once I was accepted at Seneca, I knew that I should have new aspirations. I came up with, and wrote in a note pad a list of 32 goals (I could not afford a computer). Almost every day I would read them, talk about them, and visualize them the way my mother taught me. Defining your goals allows you to think of a path; talking about your goals puts pressure on you to deliver; and visualization helps your mind find solutions in a strategic manner.

Everything that happens in the world can be either an opportunity or a threat. In time and after a lot of newspaper and book reading, I realized that some of those goals could be combined. My list went from 32 to 20, then later 10, and finally to just three objectives. My first goal was to better myself at all levels: emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially. The second was to work in international trade with a Government. And the last was to help immigrants in order to pay back the country that adopted me. Yes, I have achieved all what I wanted to do in life, but I have not stopped with the latter.  

 Upon graduation from Seneca in 1997, one of my professors (Maurice Platero) helped me secure a three-month internship with the Government of Ontario’s export development unit. Then, I went on to work for a couple of years at a newly created unit at Seneca College that provided training to Canadian companies interested in doing business in Latin America. With only two years of experience, I was already meeting influential people and organizations involved in international trade. It was time for a university degree.

 In 1999, I enrolled in the business management program at Ryerson University. With credits from Seneca, I only needed two years of classes for Ryerson to grant me a degree. During this university period I was still working at a restaurant; this time as a part-time bartender and chef assistant, not cleaning floors anymore. The wages allowed me to send money to my mom and to cover half of my expenses. In 2001, I graduated from Ryerson top of the class. Now I was ready to go after more senior jobs in international trade.

Still bothered by the fact that I had failed the TV repair course, I decided to get a certificate in telecommunications from the University of Toronto. I graduated but did not want to work in that industry. The technical side is not for me, but I proved that I could do it – especially with proper English skills. Since 1999 after graduating from Ryerson, I have been fortunate to work in international trade, in the private, public and educational sectors. The funny thing is that today, I am responsible for helping tech companies from Ontario export into the USA, which is the biggest market in the world. In a way, technology includes television and all the software that goes into it. Not bad for someone who was the worse student in the TV repair course!

In my first five years in Canada I lacked role models that would inspire me to find and seek my dreams.  However the receptionist at Seneca College changed my life. She saw potential in me and somehow was able to convince whoever was in charge to let me start the program. 

I must mention also a former military man in my hometown, renowned for his wisdom. He taught me to always look for  solutions. As a teenager, I was incredibly weak, shy and overly awkward. One day, I had a problem - I don’t remember what it was but despite my fears I managed to knock on his door. He asked what I needed and I told him my problem. He said “come back next week”. A week later I returned, and he said to me “please tell me again why you are here?”, and, again, I told him my problem, to which, you guessed it, he said “come back next week”. This exercise lasted four weeks, so the fifth time I told him that he probably did not care because he always forgot my problem. Then he said something that I will never forget. He said “Mauricio, you always come here with problems. You never come with solutions. Come up with a solution and I will help you”. That moment changed my approach to life.

I tell friends and family that Canada is a country full of opportunities. But we first must find our mission, use the resources available, and focus on achieving our goals. 

 Since coming to Canada I always look for the solution. I am positive and stay away from negative thoughts and people. I help others whenever I can – because I can, and because others have helped me . 

 I would share the following with those who are new to Canada:

• Follow your dream. If you don’t have one, then think hard on what you wanted to do when you were a teenager and go for it.

• Write all your goals, visualize them, talk about them constantly

• Read newspapers looking for opportunities and ideas to achieve those goals.

• Surround yourself with positive people

• Set the bar higher (learn from those much higher in life than you)

• Help others whenever you can

 I partially agree with Bono that the world need more Canada. Canadians developed a more inclusionary and gentler approach to decision-making due to its history and desire to maintain a relationship with the monarchy. Our country was founded by people from different colonies who mostly came from France and England: countries that had a long history of animosity, wars, and monarchy. Canada’s soft approach is appreciated worldwide but we are also critical of our timidity. 

 A contrary example is the USA, which was founded  mostly by people fleeing England,  and ready to conquer rather than appease. Americans developed a society more focused on individual decision-making and boldness.  

 For those who are thinking of emigrating I would tell them to stop reading media from back home. Read local (Canadian) mainstream media so that you learn the way we speak here, and most importantly, discover opportunities. Watch TV in English, even if you don’t understand a thing.

 I would like to summarize my accomplishments to show what one can do:

 I came to Canada from Colombia in 1991 armed only with a high school diploma and zero English. I worked as a cleaner for four years, studied, and became a Senior International Marketing Consultant leading U.S. export initiatives, and a successful real estate agent-investor. I have never forgotten his community. Since 2001 I have:

• Founded four professional/business associations – the firsts of their kind in Canada and after two decades all still operational,

• Raised money ($230,000 in the past two years alone) for education scholarships,

• Co-led national initiatives with Statistics Canada confirming today the presence of almost double the number of Hispanics in Canada (1 million+),

• Created the annual ‘10 most influential Hispanic Canadians’ awards to date with 120 influential winners from six provinces,

• Has privately met with Prime Ministers, Ministers, and influential figures from Canada’s society to help immigrants,

Was the first Hispanic to be involved with the 2015 Pan-American Games, successfully obtaining procurement opportunities and home ownership - at a lower cost - at Toronto's Pan-American Village (Canary District in downtown). 

 I have  been inducted into the 'Canadian Who is Who' and was quoted in the international best-seller "Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson" and written for three York University books. I have been profiled by the CBC, Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, most Hispanic media in Canada and even overseas.