Early Childhood Education (ECE) – Intensive [Fast Track]
Graduation Year: 1999
Sheridan helped me transform myself from a stay-at-home mom to an ECE teacher and business owner. I now own and operate the Fun to Learn Montessori School in Streetsville and the Learn ‘N Grow Childcare Centre in Mississauga.
I came to Canada in 1997 from Pakistan, as a single mother with three children under eight. Working at a Montessori school in Montreal before moving to Mississauga in 1998 cemented my decision to pursue a career in childcare.
After graduation, I gained several years experience working in three childcare centres, including a Montessori school, all the while making plans to start my own centre. I wanted to implement a program with best of Montessori (learn through play philosophy) and ECE combined. Thanks in part to the financial support of my family, a loan, and a three-year search for an ideal location, I opened the Fun to Learn Montessori School in 2004. My strong motivation to start a childcare centre surpassed my initial nervousness in becoming an entrepreneur.
The most rewarding aspect of my work is to see the happy faces of the children and their satisfied parents. It is also gratifying when children graduate from our program with the skills that will help them become productive members of society.
At Sheridan, I learned how to be a professional Early Childhood Educator - not just a babysitter. The late Judy Robillard was a strong influence on me because she had immense knowledge of child development. Plus, her teaching style made a complicated subject interesting and comprehensible.
Sheridan is a great place to start making your dream career a reality. Even if you are switching from another field, you will find Sheridan is the best place to get the education you will need. There is an abundance of help available, from the professors, staff and even your peers, whom I found were eager to assist in any way they could. So make the most of your time here!