Sandara Pathiraje is originally from Sri Lanka and immigrated to Canada with her family 12 years ago. She has recently graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in cellular, molecular, and microbial biology. After finishing her studies, she decided to devote her time to volunteering at Immigrant Services Calgary (ISC). In her volunteer role, she has been providing exceptional customer service by doing follow-up calls with Calgary Language Assessment and Referral Centre (CLARC) clients. We are very grateful for her support for newcomers and are inspired by her dedication to giving back to her community! This is her story:

“I have known of ISC for a number of years as this is where my family and I did our English tests when we first came to Calgary. ISC was of great help to us and so when I saw it on a volunteer portal, I was happy to apply.

I find that volunteering my free time is a great way to connect and give back to the community, and ISC is an especially good place to do it. ISC as an organization is involved in helping people and the community by giving immigrants the support they need to successfully start their lives in Canada and I am glad to volunteer my time for this cause.

I like to volunteer as it is a great way to meet new people from all kinds of backgrounds and strengthen my ties to the community. Volunteering also helps me work on existing skills and gain new ones. I have greatly enjoyed my time volunteering here and interacting with the clients. I look forward to continuing volunteering with ISC in the future.”

Congratulations, Sandara!