Mariana’s Story: Building a Future and Finding Community

When Mariana and her family left Mexico and arrived in Canada four years ago, they brought everything they owned in five suitcases. They were leaving behind careers, family, and a life they had built to start over from scratch in a new country, but at the heart of it all was one simple reason. 

"Our main goal in moving here was my daughter," Mariana says. "That's why we came here, to give her this life, this freedom, this safety." 

The decision to immigrate was not made lightly. Mariana and her husband wanted something different for their daughter. During a family trip to Toronto in 2019, they witnessed a moment that would stay with them forever. 

"We saw a little girl, nine or ten years old, walking alone," Mariana recalls. "My husband and me, we just looked at each other and we said, 'This is what we want for her.'" 

For Mariana, that scene represented something priceless. 

"Seeing my daughter walk, ride a bus, go to school by herself, and know that she will be safe and she will come back home," she says. "That feeling of freedom and safety is [what] we are here for." 

In 2022, Mariana came to Canada as an international student. She enrolled at Mohawk College, while her husband searched for work and her daughter attended school. 

Every day brought new challenges—adapting to a different culture, learning new systems, managing finances, and navigating immigration requirements, all while raising a teenager and building a new life. 

Yet throughout their journey, moments of kindness seemed to appear exactly when they needed them most. 

A stranger helped her husband find a job just two weeks after they arrived in Canada; a neighbour offered them shelter and food while they waited for the keys to enter their first apartment in Hamilton; a woman they met at high school basketball game became their connection to Canadian culture and traditions. 

"For us, [they were all] angel[s]," Mariana says. 

Another life-changing moment arrived when Mariana applied for a position at the YMCA. 

At the time, getting a job wasn't just about earning a paycheque. A job would give their family a better chance at permanent residency and help them continue building the future they envisioned for their daughter. 

When Mariana talks about being hired, she still becomes emotional. 

"It was my first time working in Canada, English is not my first language, my degree was not even taken into account," she says of applying for other jobs. 

"AJ took a leap of faith on me...it [helped put] food on my table and [allowed me] to apply for my Permanent Residence." 

With a degree in engineering, summer camp and child care administration wasn't exactly on her radar, but she quickly discovered something unexpected about her new workplace. 

"The YMCA is not only a gym," she says with a smile. "It's literally so much more than a gym." 

The work was meaningful, but it was the people who changed her life. 

"It's not only the salary. It is everything that the Y has given me," Mariana says. "[My colleagues and managers] AJ, Shawna, and Melissa, they are really, really patient. They taught me what the Y is." 

She found a workplace where values such as caring, inclusion, respect, and belonging weren't just words on a wall, but something she experienced every day. 

"I keep saying it's not because of the job, it's because of the people that I'm here," she explains. "This is my second family, my second home." 

The dream that brought Mariana's family to Canada is becoming reality. While the family continues to wait for a final decision on their permanent residency application, Mariana already feels they have achieved the most important goal—enabling her daughter to stay in Canada, even if they don't receive permanent residency. 

"My daughter [is in university as an international student] for nursing. That was her dream," she says. "In that part, we have a check mark." 

Looking back, Mariana says it's the people who they've met along the way that have made all the difference. 

"I always treat people the way that I want them to treat me," she says. "This is a place where they have always treated me kindly, every single day." 

That spirit of kindness is what Mariana now gives back through her work at the YMCA, through volunteering, and through the community she continues to build around her. 

After all, belonging isn't just about finding a place where you fit in. It's about finding people who welcome you in, believe in you, and help you create a home