For Slobodan Mitrovic, coming to Canada with his family was a matter of life and death. Choosing Winnipeg, Manitoba, in November 1994 Mitrovic decided to leave his war-torn homeland of former Yugoslavia for the sake of his wife and children. Canada’s stability and safety appealed to him.

You could ask Alden Habacon to define himself in a few words, but, as he starts to speak, you’ll realize his answer could fill a book. In some ways, the affable thirty-something media professional and diversity speaker from Vancouver has spent his whole life trying to figure out who he is.

Hernani moved to Canada in 2005 to study sustainable development issues and, in 2007, he achieved his master’s degree in science in environment and management at Royal Roads University in British Columbia.

As executive director of the Clean Calgary Association (CCA), Odd is striving to make her city a healthier, more sustainable place to live.

On the one-year anniversary of her retirement from her position as CEO of the Calgary Immigrant Aid Society, immigrant advocate Hadassah Ksienski is showing no signs of slowing down.

Back in his home country, Jaleta was a rising star on the Ethiopian national track scene. He won the national high school championships and was being groomed for the Olympics. But his dreams were shattered when a civil war broke out in his country.

Poy was born in Hong Kong six months before it was invaded by Japan in 1941, into an affluent and prominent family. Her father Richard Charles Lee, an Oxford-trained engineer who found success as a businessman, was the son of Hysan Lee, an even more prominent real estate businessman.

A year ago, Balatongli was recruited by the world-class ambulance company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A devoutly religious man, Balatongli explains he asked for help from a higher power. “I said, ‘Lord, I want to go live in another country.’ A friend had a dream and said he saw me leaving the Philippines, and I knew my wish would be given to me.”

Paul, 40, still has trouble believing he was voted “Best Doctor in Regina” by readers of Regina’s local newspaper Prairie Dog, in April in the “Best of Regina” feature. The award has no monetary value, but it’s definitely an honour — and it sure helped boost the confidence of an immigrant who’s been here for only a short time.

Vinod Sodiyal, who holds a doctorate in Sanskrit, is a widely travelled and well-read man, who chose to make Calgary his home nearly three years ago. He practises Vedic astrology full time and has a list of clients that reads like Calgary’s Yellow Pages.