Hard Work and Courage

When my granddaughter Janaya graduated from highschool in Saskatoon the varsity gave her a one-thousand-dollar scholarship for univ...

When my granddaughter Janaya graduated from highschool in Saskatoon the varsity gave her a one-thousand-dollar scholarship for university. She is intelligent but also has a tremendous work ethic and invests tons of your time into her studies. Intelligence plus diligence are an honest formula for doing well.

Even though she played the piano beautifully and was an honest artist, she decided that she wanted to review engineering. Not everyone encouraged her during this choice as there's an occupational gender bias within the field. In fact, statistics indicate that but one-tenth of registered engineers in Saskatchewan are woman.

Janaya's age could have held her back as she entered the program at the University of Saskatchewan right out of highschool .

She didn't come from a wealthy family, had been afraid to use for scholarships initially and knew that she would need to work to assist fund the education.

What she didn't lack was determination. She worked during a breakfast restaurant then found out that taking a mixology course would allow her to earn better tips within the industry . She found some summer employment during a greenhouse type setting.

And all the time she was in classes she worked and studied and worked and studied.

Finally, in her early twenties she was almost able to graduate with a degree in Engineering, but she couldn't attend the convocation ceremony. You see she had found employment with a tractor company and had created an idea together with her employer to visit Europe so as to engineer a project for them which might help her qualify for a Master's in Engineering degree.

Janaya headed off to Belgium for 3 months by herself! i can not really tell you what she did for the employer because frankly i do not know it (I'm not an engineer). What I do know though is what I learned through her regular posts. Every weekend for 3 months, Janaya would have an adventure and her blogs were crammed with photos of the various countries that she visited. Now remember this is often a twenty-two-year-old student with limited cash, employer expectations and assignments to finish .

She's back in Saskatoon now and writing up the specified paperwork to finish the two-year degree that she is expecting to earn in one year. Oh, and do not think that she is getting to rest just yet. Her mother recently informed me that Janaya is considering making an application for a doctoral program.

I remember asking Janaya a few of years ago what the long-term goal would be. At that point , she said "aerospace engineering"! do not know if which will happen but, within the meantime, she is within the very small group of female engineers in Saskatchewan on her thanks to the Master's in Engineering degree. and she or he has toured Europe!

The next time you discover yourself saying "I can't do this" think again!

Thanks, Janaya, for your wonderful example. you're an idea to all or any folks .