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Alumni
Join our network of over 3,000 life-long learners in gaining the skills you need to be successful in the workplace. Read about Illuminate from the perspective of our program alumni and interns.
Hear From Our Adult Learners Who Have Just Completed an Illuminate Virtual Experience
Patricia
With a passion for developing more diverse skills and a desire to learn, she hopes to enhance her communication and problem-solving skills while under the guidance of an Illuminate career coach.
Sophie
With a passion for developing more diverse skills and a desire to learn, she hopes to enhance her adaptability and problem solving skills while under the guidance of an Illuminate career coach. In 5 to 10 years, Sophie will improve the adaptability and problem solving skills to become a manager in the insurance industry.
Yuping
I am an insurance broker in BC and am now building up my team. I hope to enhance my communication and leadership skills to help me achieve my career goals.
Branden
I have always been interested in improving my communication skills. We use communication everyday and everywhere we go, and I want to learn how to talk to diverse backgrounds with ease.
Cher
My objective here is to learn about the banking industry, industry trends, and RBC. I am currently exploring my career options and am interested in learning about the banking industry and learning corporate skills with Illuminate.
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Hannah
My goal is to enhance my communication and problem-solving skills. I have been in finance and insurance business as a financial advisor and insurance broker for six years. I am hoping to improve these core skills through the virtual experiences offered by Illuminate Universe.
Shana
I hope to enhance my communication and problem-solving skills while under the guidance of an Illuminate career coach. I am excited to apply the digital skills I learned to the workplace. In 5 to 10 years, I will finish school and hopefully find a job in the law industry.
Winston
Winston is working as a realtor now, and is looking to expand career to insurance industry. With a passion for developing more diverse skills and a desire to learn, he hopes to enhance his communication and e-commerce skills while under the guidance of an Illuminate career coach.
Feng
I has been a home maker for quite some years and now I am planning to find a job in the future. I think the problem solving skill and the writing skill improvement will help me a lot in achieving this goal.
Bob
Bob was used to be an electrical engineer and general manager of an oil company before he came to Canada. He would like to improve his communication skills and problem-solving skills while cooperating with friends and even with family members.
Michelle
Michelle is aiming to get more expertise in insurance industry and train up more talents for the industry, especially the young generation since the industry work force is facing aging problem. That's why she attended Illuminate's Intergenerational Communication training.
Jeff
I has been a home maker for quite some years and now I am planning to find a job in the future. I think the problem solving skill and the writing skill improvement will help me a lot in achieving this goal.
Jo
Having begun her career in the hospitality industry, she has developed her collective skills through living and working in Canada and internationally. Her goal at this stage of life is to bring her collective skills and passions together to refocus in a career direction that will culminate into a focused path of career development.
Edward
With a passion for developing more diverse skills and a desire to learn, he hopes to enhance his communication and problem-solving skills while under the guidance of an Illuminate career coach. Hongtao is excited to apply investment knowledge he learned in every week learning course to share with his friends.
Xiaojie
I have been in Canada for 4 years. Like many new immigrants, language has always been a pain point for me, because I find written and oral communication very important in any career. Understanding the characteristics of each age can help, and I was able to communicate with them more easily.
Jin
A sales manager should be a good leader of his team. That's why I opted to join Illuminate's training on Sales Leadership with Don Coulter.
Jian
With Illuminate, Jacqueline is delighted to apply her love of writing to the workplace. Within 5-10 years, Jacqueline hopes to complete her JD and advocate for a more equitable legal system.
Winnie
Since the beginning of 2021, Winnie has been building her own sales team. She has learnt a lot and benefited from the training at Illuminate with the topic “Sales Leadership." Knowing the diversity and characteristics of different generations is helpful in terms of team building, effective communication, leadership and mentorship.
Cai
I would like to develop Communication and Writing skills, because I am a newcomer, so I need to develop the two skills for my new job. The life lesson I learned so far is Integrity - that is the base of everything. My dream is to be able to express my opinion well in the future and do good work.
Vivien
I would like to develop Communication and Digital skills. Since I recently moved from the Operation team to the Sales Support team. My objective that I'm pushing towards is to be an excellent Sales Support with strong technical knowledge. My dream is to be a Sales Specialist or some sort of Purchasing Manager.
Limei
I would like to see improvements in my writing and problem-solving skills, as my job puts me in a changing environment and expects me to interact with customers. A life lesson I have learned so far is Confidence, because it is fuel for pushing my boundaries.
Tina
I would like to develop Communication and Problem-Solving skills. Just because you’re out of school, it doesn’t mean that you should stop educating yourself. Making a point of keeping yourself up to date with what is going on in the world and keeping abreast of the latest developments in your industry will both give you an edge.
Bin
I would like to develop my reading and communication skills. I am a newcomer to the country and I think these two skills are essential to my new life at Canada. I plan to develop those two skills by talking adult lessons and actively participate in community activities.
Xu Lan
I would like to develop problem -solving and communication skills, as a sales manager in financial services industry , I need to develop the two skills for my position in order to leading team properly and develop business quickly. My goal is to improve my management skills and Manage my team more scientifically and efficiently.
Rong
My objective here would be to learn Communication skills and Problem-Solving skills. Since I am really shy and my mind will go blank when I am surrounded by lots of people, I never know how to talk with people with different ages and backgrounds but Illuminate taught me these skills!
Hao
Now I am choosing to be an insurance broker which is a very challenging job for me. I want to challenge myself because I want to get out of my comfortable zone. That is why I am so happy to be in this training program. I wish I can learn the theoretical method from the instructor then to practice in my business or my personal life.
Max
I believe in insurance, and I hope I can help people through it. Communication and problem-solving are two basic skills to develop my business. As an insurance broker, getting the trust from the clients is the key to building up my business. I know these skills are essential.
Lian
I want to see the people around me have a peaceful mind in their life with my professional insurance knowledge. That's why I chose to sharpen my skills at Illuminate.
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Hao
I am a business man during this 20 years ,that 7 years run business in Vancouver, it related Education , tourism, currency exchange and recruiting. I believe that the training on Sale Leadership has honed my corporate skillset.
Christopher
One life lesson Christopher has learned during his time at Illuminate is the value of being open to new ideas and perspectives. This has helped him to approach problems with a more creative and innovative mindset. He is also working towards an objective of developing his numeracy skills in order to better understand data and statistics.
Messia
My objective here would be to learn communication skills and Problem-Solving skills. I am happy to learn some useful skill through each field. I believe the Illuminate training has done just that!
Jie
I never know how to talk with people with different ages, backgrounds and interests. I believe that the Illuminate training helped me to learn how to bridge that gap.
Noahmy
My objective is to learn how to communicate better with Millenials As they have a very different point of view from Us Gen Z. I am a customer service specialist and I have been doing Marketing with MDS consulting for about 4 months now. I'm thrilled to learn from this experience.
Ping
I gained a better understanding of credit scores, government loan programs, and RBC's credit card services and increased awareness of personal financial planning. Really good to meet you all at the conference, and will recommend it to friend.
Lin
Through this learning, I have acquired more professional banking knowledge and skills. In future, I will know how to manage my account better, invest reasonably and prudently and avoid risks. I would also like to thank Illuminate for giving us such an excellent platform to participate in the study, and all the friends I have recommended are delighted. Thank you again!
Yi
I have learnt something new through this study. I would recommend Illuminate to friends and family.
Lakshya Balchandani
Toronto Participant
Jake Wright
Toronto Participant
Anna Ma
Vancouver Participant
Lakshya's Words
Interning at Illuminate helped me grow both as an individual and professional by giving me a platform to test my leadership skills, and most importantly by providing me with an invaluable network of connections at my disposal. Believe it or not, but the most important lesson I took from my experience at Illuminate was about people. They made me realize that big or small, successful or not, life is all about relationships. The ones we have with our friends, our family, and the ones we develop when we step up, take a risk, and step into the unknown. It isn't until we do so, that we can truly experience the best that people have to offer.
Jake's Words
Many thanks to Illuminate Universe and Deloitte Canada for the opportunity to participate in the
National High School Business Conference in Ottawa as a Business Development Intern.
The position allowed me to sharpen the business skills I have developed during high school,
and prepare me as I enter the Rotman Commerce program at the University of Toronto this fall.
The internship has helped me to develop my leadership skills and provided me with unique
insights into the business world. I am grateful for the confidence in me demonstrated by
Illuminate and Deloitte, and all the support and guidance provided to help me succeed. Deloitte
and Illuminate advisors were generous with their time and expertise and their mentorship was
invaluable throughout the internship. This position has enhanced my teamwork, leadership, and
problem-solving abilities while also helping me to better understand the business world, and to
set myself up for success.
Anna's Words
This year, I got to experience the operational side of conducting an Illuminate conference. My favorite part of the experience was meeting the fellow student interns and helping each other coordinate, organize, plan to make the conference a success. I also loved how Illuminate gave us a chance to interact with business leaders of today, from big name companies such as Deloitte and Concentra. The competitive, yet friendly vibe during the conference was truly inspiring, and motivated all the students to work harder and think smarter. Illuminate has been a vital mentor along my path towards the business world. I would not be going into UBC commerce without the experiences I've had and passions I've gained from Illuminate over the past 3 years.
Current Learners
Jamal
I love understanding and experiencing marketing by going out and reaching out to people about Illuminate. It has helped by giving me hands on experience of marketing and, in the future, the enhancement of my resume. I would recommend it to peers if they want hands on experience in the marketing and business sector.
Isra
My favourite part about learning and growing at illuminate is that it is excellent in providing one with self growth opportunities. When moving into my career journey, I feel that illuminate has helped me get a clear understanding on what's needed from one in order to succeed. I would recommend it to peers so that they can grow as well.
![20220921_104215[3001] - Ananya Thiruselvam.jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e2d6c6_af51ba81ddc94a81a07bff576ba70bd5~mv2.jpeg/v1/crop/x_1013,y_69,w_3053,h_3050/fill/w_59,h_59,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/20220921_104215%5B3001%5D%20-%20Ananya%20Thiruselvam.jpeg)
Ananya
My favourite part of learning and growing at Illuminate is getting marketing and corporate experience. This is because, as a university student, the corporate world seemed so out of reach and scary. Illuminate helped me better understand the expectations and provided a safe learning space. I can use these new skills to meet my goals even after graduation.
Oh the Far Places You'll Go!
Meet Our Program Alumni
Amy
Zhang
Austin
Teshuba
Netanya
Castillo
Join the Community Through Our Leadership Academy!
The $100k Give Back Challenge
To support our community of future leaders, Illuminate is challenging itself to see how generous it can be. That's why we're awarding over $100k in scholarships for our Leadership Academy Private High School.
We want to play a large role in building a more diverse and inclusive Canada – we've challenged ourselves to invest in the future of immigrant, refugee, and minority high schoolers so that their generation of voices, perspectives, and leadership styles can make a difference in Canada.
Submit both an application to the academy and the scholarship.
The next deadline to apply is November 30, 2022 for the January 2023 intake.
