Before they logged onto the Portage College website and student social media pages to learn about the college’s Practical Nurse Diploma program, Aishat Akinlabi and Susana Kayla Namijo didn’t know each other. The two women lived in countries 1,200 kilometres apart on a continent more than 12,000 kilometres from the northeastern Alberta college they were both interested in attending.
Months later, the two African women are friends and classmates with their sights set on a profession they have dreamed about since childhood.
Namijo, who goes by her second name, Kayla, is from Cameroon, a country of about 30 million people. Aishat is from neighbouring Nigeria with a population of 235 million. Both women got to know each other online as they worked through the process to enter the Portage College program. Aishat said she went online to find a good practical nursing program in Canada. She found the Portage College site and made the decision.
“I wanted to do nursing, and I was going online for schools, and I saw Portage College, and. I was so attracted to it,” said Aishat, who already held a BSc in Chemistry, but dreamed of being a nurse. “I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, my grandma is a nurse my grandpa is a gynecologist. When I was a little girl, I played with their stethoscopes.”
With the Portage College program at the top of her list, she logged onto an online student portal and sent out a request for anyone taking the Practical Nurse Diploma program.
Kayla responded. She too had been looking for the right nursing program.
“I always wanted to be a doctor personally, but my high school grades didn’t permit me to go into medical school right away, so I had to look for something that still had to do with a hospital…. to keep me around hospitals. That’s where I wanted to be,” Kayla said.
Like Aishat, she entered a university Bio-Chemistry program in Africa. “But I want to be around more people. I love taking care of people, so practical nursing was something I wanted to do.”
She found the Portage College program because a family member already living in Alberta recommended it.
“My uncle referred me to Portage College. He lives beside the campus in St. Paul and said I should apply because it’s a great place,” Kayla said.
Through their shared research of the college, the community, and the country from a continent halfway around the world, the two women helped each other to prepare for a new life in Canada.
“It was nice to have someone to share with,” said Aishat.
Kayla prepares a syringe and Aishat checks the blood pressure of Practical Nurse program lab patient “Mr. Hill.”
Their months in Canada have given the two friends many more experiences to share – in the classroom and the community.
“It’s even better than what I saw online. People are always ready to help. People are smiling at you and greeting you. Everyone is friendly,” Aishat said.
Both women say they hope to share their experiences and their new community with visiting family members.
“My parents are both in Nigeria and are very excited to come here and see where I am,” said Aishat, who chats frequently with her family in Africa on video calls.
Kayla has family in the United States and in Cameroon. She too is looking forward to visits.
Both women joke that the winter months might be a bit of a challenge for their African family members.
“On the video calls, I show them the snow and tell them how cold it can be – so they want to visit … but probably in the summer,” Aishat said with a smile.
As both women work through their first year of the two-year Practical Nurse Diploma program, they have plans to further their education towards a Registered Nurse program, continuing the parallel journey that brought them around the world to Portage College.
About the Program
For more information on the Practical Nurse Diploma program or other Portage College programs, visit the program offerings on the Portage College website. Information on International Student enrollment can also be found here.