Mentors help students find their inner strength

Sabeen* had survived two abusive marriages. She had entered the first – an arranged marriage – in Lahore, Pakistan, at the age of 21. After almost 10 difficult years, she boarded a plane with her children to start again in Canada. At 35, she then tried marriage a second time. This husband quickly turned emotionally abusive. To Sabeen, living with him felt like “living with the devil,” and she began fearing for the safety of her children. In a matter of months, she found the strength, yet again, to leave.

Sabeen had wanted to attend the University of Toronto Mississauga for a long time, hoping to attain a degree in criminology and socio-legal studies to pursue a career in family law. But there were so many roadblocks to attending university, including paperwork: she didn’t have her transcripts from the university she had attended in Pakistan. She was dealing with the emotional and financial toll of a divorce in progress, and of being a single working mom. But she thought a lot about applying, anyhow.

Read the full story in the latest University of Toronto Magazine...