During the first wave of COVID-19, Lin Yuan-Su wanted to something to help people stay mentally and physically healthy while they were stuck at home.
So, she started a free online Zumba class – open to all.
“I just thought, what can I do to serve the community?” says the London mom, who became a certified Zumba instructor years ago after auditioning for a position on a whim. “I love helping people. It feels good.”
As a community volunteer, professional dietitian and certified life coach, Lin has devoted her life to helping Londoners for 17 years.
Originally from China, Lin immigrated to Canada in 2002, first moving to St. John, NB, for university. She moved to London a year later, after falling in love with a young man who lived here. Their romance ended, but her love of London has remained strong, said Lin who is now married to London Chinese medicine doctor Hai Su, who immigrated to Canada in 2006.
“Every time I’m driving into the city and I see the sign for London, I’m like ‘LONDON, BABY!’” says Lin with a laugh, recalling the episode from her favourite TV series Friends – when character Joey Tribianni repeatedly shouts that phrase while in London, England.
OK so it’s not that London, but this London has “everything you need,” says Lin.
“It has the best schools . . . the best health care. It’s a perfect size, close enough to Toronto but far enough that you don’t get the craziness dealing with a big municipality,” she said.
Lin became a registered dietitian after being the first international student to graduate Brescia University’s Master of Science program in Food and Nutritional Sciences in 2010. For eight years, she worked at the Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre, where she learned what she could about Indigenous cultures and shared her knowledge with other non-Indigenous folks.
But even while she attended school, Lin was volunteering at many organizations including London Food Bank, the Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Men’s Mission. She recommends other newcomers to Canada take the opportunity to volunteer while they work to achieve career goals.
“It feels good to know you’re adding value to other people’s lives,” she said. “And also, volunteer experience beefs up your resume.”
During her own immigration journey, Lin said she has received support from Londoners from all backgrounds and has been lucky to have a loving and supportive group of friends from diverse backgrounds who have become her family in Canada.
Lin says she has had good fortune, but she and her husband have also taken care to “enjoy the journey,” that immigration has given them.
“I have had an amazing experience throughout my journey. It’s not because it was easier for me. It’s not because we came with millions of dollars. We enjoyed the journey,” she said. “It was still fun. Challenges are part of life.”

Arun Kunnel Varkey and his wife had only been in Canada a few days when they needed to take the bus across London.
This was all new, they had no idea how the bus system worked here. And it showed.
As the couple used their phone to research routes and procedures, a woman noticed them and came over to help. Then she travelled with them to their transfer stop, got off the bus with them and waited with them until their next bus arrived.
“That was our first impression of dealing with somebody we didn’t know in London,” Arun said in a recent interview. “This very incident – with a random person the first time we went out – formed our perception about the London community. They were ready to help new immigrants without any bias. 
“It was mind-blowing.”
After working as a nurse for eight years in his home country of India, Arun had arrived in Canada in 2017 as a skilled worker.
“Once we came here, we felt like we were Canadians. We learned the culture, we said ‘we are going to be Canadians,’” he said.
While Arun wanted to remain in health care, he would have to return to school to become certified if he wanted to work as a nurse here. .
He found work in a factory that makes car parts. That same year, he completed a personal support worker (PSW) program, so he could get back to working in health care.
As a PSW, Arun works long hours – longer since COVID-19 struck.
But it is a labour of love for someone who has considered health care is a vocation since he was a youth helping neighbours and his grandparents in India.
“I always liked helping people. When I had to choose a profession, I thought this would be good for me,” he said. “I work in the community and I want to make a positive change in people’s lives.”
He said he feels good about helping senior citizens, especially those who live alone and do not receive visits from family or friends.
“These days the only people they are seeing from outside the home are the health care workers and that 45 minute or one-hour visit is really important for them,” he said. “I can see their happiness.”  
As for nursing, Arun says he’s “still working on,” getting his certification in Ontario. “But while I do that, I thought I’d be in the same field and keep helping people.”
His work has given him purpose in Canada.
“As a newcomer it’s difficult in the beginning, but once you find something you enjoy, it will make a difference,” he says.