Chinelo Ezenwa: "I'm always happy when I live in a space . . . where there is that continual quest and exercise to do better, to get better.”
Chinelo Ezenwa’s path to Canada from Nigeria is one that’s becoming more common for newcomers.
She wasn’t fleeing war; she wasn’t escaping persecution.
Already with degrees from Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Chinelo was simply looking for an opportunity to access one of the best education systems in the world.
That’s how she ended up in London as an international student in 2015 after being accepted into a master’s program at Western University.
But what Chinelo did share with many immigrants coming to London was the heartbreak of leaving her parents, her husband and her young children behind for a shot at further education and research opportunities.
She also experienced how isolating it can be to move to a new country where you don’t know anybody.
“I was worried about leaving my children,” Chinelo says. “I didn't know if I could cope . . . (and) after the first month, I kept crying to my parents that I wanted to go home.”
School was challenging at the beginning, says Chinelo, pointing out that, when she started her master’s degree at Western, she had been out of school for nearly a decade.
“I was much older, and I remember the first assignments, I struggled for the longest time because I was supposed to write 15 pages (for an essay) and I couldn’t write the first page,” she says.
“I remember saying to my mother, ‘Oh, I can't do this. I'm going to come back.”
Not knowing many people in the city also contributed to her desire to go back to her home country.
While the number of international students coming to London had been growing steadily over the past few years, the graduate program in English Chinelo was in didn’t attract many other foreign students, she says, meaning Chinelo was the only Black student in her department.
“When I came in, there was a part of me that felt different,” she says. It wasn’t only her ethnicity. She was already a mom and in her late 30s while many of her classmates seemed to be in their early 20s.
“I didn't have much of a life outside of the university. Those first years I would go to class and then back to my room and that was it.”
She wasn’t fleeing war; she wasn’t escaping persecution.
Already with degrees from Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Chinelo was simply looking for an opportunity to access one of the best education systems in the world.
That’s how she ended up in London as an international student in 2015 after being accepted into a master’s program at Western University.
But what Chinelo did share with many immigrants coming to London was the heartbreak of leaving her parents, her husband and her young children behind for a shot at further education and research opportunities.
She also experienced how isolating it can be to move to a new country where you don’t know anybody.
“I was worried about leaving my children,” Chinelo says. “I didn't know if I could cope . . . (and) after the first month, I kept crying to my parents that I wanted to go home.”
School was challenging at the beginning, says Chinelo, pointing out that, when she started her master’s degree at Western, she had been out of school for nearly a decade.
“I was much older, and I remember the first assignments, I struggled for the longest time because I was supposed to write 15 pages (for an essay) and I couldn’t write the first page,” she says.
“I remember saying to my mother, ‘Oh, I can't do this. I'm going to come back.”
Not knowing many people in the city also contributed to her desire to go back to her home country.
While the number of international students coming to London had been growing steadily over the past few years, the graduate program in English Chinelo was in didn’t attract many other foreign students, she says, meaning Chinelo was the only Black student in her department.
“When I came in, there was a part of me that felt different,” she says. It wasn’t only her ethnicity. She was already a mom and in her late 30s while many of her classmates seemed to be in their early 20s.
“I didn't have much of a life outside of the university. Those first years I would go to class and then back to my room and that was it.”
Though at several points she was close to calling it quits, Chinelo’s family encouraged her to stay in Canada to pursue her education by focusing on completing one semester at a time.
“That really helped, having that kind of focus,” she says. “I just kept saying to myself, I’m on a mission.”
It led to a split existence for Chinelo, who would be in Canada during the term and fly home to Nigeria at the end of each term to be close to her family.
When she had her last child, however, such a lifestyle became less feasible, especially because Chinelo had by then begun pursuing her Ph.D.
“I wanted to have a sense of peace and some kind of stability,” she says.
Nigeria was also entering a period of economic and political instability, further convincing Chinelo to relocate her family to London.
Now that she has finished her education, Chinelo has made a key part of her professional life helping others in the community.
She volunteers to mentor international students and community members in London.
Chinelo also worked for the City of London as the Black Community Connector as part of the Neighbourhood London and the Mobility Master Plan teams, where she researched and helped develop and implement community outreach programs.
More recently, Chinelo has worked as a professor at both Fanshawe and King’s University Colleges. This fall she began a new position at Western aimed at providing academic support for graduate students.
She says London has grown and changed a lot in the time she’s lived here. She thinks that while the growth in immigrants can pose some challenges, newcomers also bring positive things to the city, and they won’t feel as isolated or excluded as her family sometimes felt.
“It's not a perfect society. I've not lived anywhere perfect,” Chinelo says. “But I'm always happy when I live in a space . . . where there is that continual quest and exercise to do better, to get better.”
Chinelo thinks it’s good for immigrants to get involved with their communities and the London community at large. For her, such integration and a lot of hard work can help people to achieve their dreams.
“Where I come from, people have visions of what it is supposed to be like in the Western world. It's almost as if the streets are paved with gold or as if you have a tree behind your house and money is dripping from it, and it’s not like that,” she says.
“You have to be ready to put in the work, I say to new immigrants; so, ‘be prepared.’”
“That really helped, having that kind of focus,” she says. “I just kept saying to myself, I’m on a mission.”
It led to a split existence for Chinelo, who would be in Canada during the term and fly home to Nigeria at the end of each term to be close to her family.
When she had her last child, however, such a lifestyle became less feasible, especially because Chinelo had by then begun pursuing her Ph.D.
“I wanted to have a sense of peace and some kind of stability,” she says.
Nigeria was also entering a period of economic and political instability, further convincing Chinelo to relocate her family to London.
Now that she has finished her education, Chinelo has made a key part of her professional life helping others in the community.
She volunteers to mentor international students and community members in London.
Chinelo also worked for the City of London as the Black Community Connector as part of the Neighbourhood London and the Mobility Master Plan teams, where she researched and helped develop and implement community outreach programs.
More recently, Chinelo has worked as a professor at both Fanshawe and King’s University Colleges. This fall she began a new position at Western aimed at providing academic support for graduate students.
She says London has grown and changed a lot in the time she’s lived here. She thinks that while the growth in immigrants can pose some challenges, newcomers also bring positive things to the city, and they won’t feel as isolated or excluded as her family sometimes felt.
“It's not a perfect society. I've not lived anywhere perfect,” Chinelo says. “But I'm always happy when I live in a space . . . where there is that continual quest and exercise to do better, to get better.”
Chinelo thinks it’s good for immigrants to get involved with their communities and the London community at large. For her, such integration and a lot of hard work can help people to achieve their dreams.
“Where I come from, people have visions of what it is supposed to be like in the Western world. It's almost as if the streets are paved with gold or as if you have a tree behind your house and money is dripping from it, and it’s not like that,” she says.
“You have to be ready to put in the work, I say to new immigrants; so, ‘be prepared.’”