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It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes people like Nazira Tareen to ensure that village has a strong foundation.

Tareen has devoted herself to building and nurturing communities in Ottawa since graduating from the Early Childhood Education program in 1973.

When Tareen came to Ottawa from India almost half a century ago, she knew Kannada well, but not so much about Canada.

Kannada, a classical Indian language preserved in the south Indian state of Karnataka, was one of a number of languages, including Urdu and English, Tareen spoke when she emigrated with her husband in 1968. But Canada she had to learn about, and her earliest education came from her fellow Early Education students.

“The training I received at Algonquin is so valuable, even after so many years I treasure it very much,” Tareen says. “I have applied what I learned at Algonquin to my work, my own children, and now my grandchildren.”

Algonquin was just two years old when the college introduced Early Childhood Education in 1969, and Tareen was among its first students. “I chose early childhood education because I love children. I came (to Algonquin) and I loved it.”

Tareen was almost a decade older than the other students, but she felt immediately at home. “It really helped me to get to know Canada, because I was with young people, young students,” she recalls. “It was a good introduction to Canadian life.”

These days, as one of the founders of the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization, Tareen spends much of her time in similar kinds of cultural sharing – whether helping Canadian high school students understand Islam, or helping Canadian Muslims get a broader view of their country. Currently, she is working with an Algonquin Nation elder to organize a blanket ceremony – a unique way of teaching Indigenous history – for Ottawa imams.

Indigenous people have suffered for centuries in Canada, Tareen says, and the Canadian Muslim community can contribute to making things right. “When you help someone else, you rise above your own problems,” she says.

She got her own helping hand while attending Algonquin College. In the second year of her program, Tareen discovered she was pregnant and decided to drop out. Her fellow students and the instructors wouldn’t let her leave quietly. “They said, ‘Oh, Nazira, we’re coming to your house to have tea with you’. I said, ‘Sure, come,’ so they all came and surprised me with a baby shower.”

After the birth of a son and then a daughter, Tareen returned to the College to finish her last semester on a part-time basis. Education, she says, is fundamentally important, particularly for women.

“If you have knowledge, if you have education, nobody can bully you, can subjugate you. You can be your own person.”

When Tareen first attended Algonquin College, there were fewer than 500 Muslims in the city, and not a single mosque to serve them. Today, followers of Islam number in the tens of thousands and attend 13 mosques in Ottawa.

Tareen was involved in fund-raising for Ottawa’s first mosque in Westboro. When it opened in 1977, she was able to put her College training to use, teaching classes to pre-school children for the mosque’s Sunday school program. For decades, she has also presented annual workshops on Islam to Grade 11 students as part of the Ottawa Catholic School Board’s world religion program.

Through the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization, she reaches out to new Canadians and helps with fundraising for the broader Ottawa community. The Heart Institute, CHEO, and The Royal Ottawa Hospital are just a few of charities the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Organization has endowed.

Asked why she is still so involved, she answers with emotion in her voice: “Because Canada has given a lot to us. Because I was blessed.”

Kristen Strader admits that for some people, a dental office can seem like a scary place. But it doesn’t have to be, says the 2015 graduate of Algonquin College’s Dental Hygiene program.

As a teenager, Strader was a patient at a dental office so welcoming and non-scary; it inspired her to get into the field. “I never really had a bad experience at (that dental office),” she says, “and everybody really worked well as a team. It was always a really good atmosphere. And I thought, why don’t I go into that?”

Now, as a full-time hygienist, she tries to give her patients the same experience. “I try to make it a really welcoming atmosphere. I try to make it all about the patient,” she says. “You’ve got to make yourself seem knowledgeable so they are going to be comfortable with the services you are providing.”

Her reward for such personal service is a relationship with patients and their families that is more than just primly professional. “I really like getting to know people,” she says. “You get to know generations of families. I get to hear some amazing stories from people.”

Strader credits her ability to inspire confidence in her patients to her thorough training at Algonquin College. “They have a lot to offer. Carrying over to my career, I had everything I needed to get started. It was a really smooth transition.”

Employers in her field look for the school’s grads, she says. “(They say) we always pick Algonquin grads as our top tier because we know it’s such a good college to go to.”

During Strader’s time at the College, dental hygiene became more than just a career. She began volunteering at community centres and through the Youth Services Bureau, providing oral health care to seniors, children and at-risk youth. Her efforts were recognized in her final year at Algonquin with the first-ever Student Advocacy Award presented by the Ontario Dental Hygienist Association. Strader continues her advocacy as a professional.

Her advice to students currently in the College’s dental programs? “Go with the flow.”

“There are so many different offices out there with so many different technologies,” she says. “Some may not have computers, some may be super high-tech. It’s about getting to know the people you’re working with and trying to fit in as well as you can.”

Chef Resa Solomon-St. Lewis has always had soul, but Algonquin College gave her heart.

AC gave her the support – and culinary skills – to make a total career switch from manager and engineer in the federal government to Chef and entrepreneur. It all started in 2013 with completion of the Chef Training program, followed by enrolment in Culinary Management.

“I decided to pursue my passion,” she recalls. “I always wanted to attend Algonquin for chef training.” Following her passion has allowed her to build her “dream company.” Chef Resa is the founder of Baccanalle, an Ottawa-based food purveyor and caterer specializing in Caribbean and soul foods with lifestyle choice options, including vegan and gluten-free. She recently opened Capital Fare Café, bringing her culinary style to a very lucky office.

“I am able to merge my Caribbean heritage and Canadian nationality,” she explains of her menus.

Chef Resa credits her academic success with the College’s accessibility and flexibility – which allowed her to continue working full-time while earning her first certificate. She always had a flair for cooking, but Culinary Skills taught her the fundamentals and “why things happen” in the kitchen. “I loved learning the science and biochemistry behind cooking,” she adds.

Armed with that newfound tools for experimentation, she was able to craft her own innovative fusion menu – not to mention develop unique specialty food products like sauces and condiments. As a chef, she puts her own stamp on heritage cooking from Trinidad and Tobago blending it with European and Canadian that she honed in classroom training. Curry Lobster Ravioli, for example, is a fusion dish she perfected after learning how to make pasta from scratch while at AC. “(The goal) is to make something unique and delicious,” she explains.

Chef Resa’s trademark curry dishes have created somewhat of a following around town. Her coconut-infused curry goat was one of the key plates that made her a winner at the 2015 Embassy Chef Challenge, in which she represented the High Commission for the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago. At the 2016 Embassy Chef Challenge, she took home the People’s Choice Award for varied lobster dishes, including the Curry Lobster Ravioli made from a Cassava pasta which was her take on a traditional Tobago dish – Curry Crab and Cassava Dumplings.

“I was shocked,” the chef says of her back-to-back accolades. “I was a fairly new graduate.” She also finished on top of the 2015 Beechwood Market Chef Cook-off for her maple-infused bountiful vegan curry (which is also on the Baccanalle menu).

She credits her competitive success to making dishes that she personally loves. She also took away major lessons learned as a student contestant in AC’s annual Battle of the Knives. “It was absolutely not a good showing – but I learned to be better prepared, to execute in different way and greater resilience for risk-taking,” she says, citing the College as a safe environment to learn, make mistakes and improve.

As the old saying goes, ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ However, it’s easier to stay put when there is nowhere else you’d rather be. For Solomon-St. Lewis, the long hours and dedication are well worth it; she is fuelled by her passion.

The College experience also taught her how to be a culinary industry professional, and the essentials of managing a kitchen– a valuable asset for a fledgling business owner. She says her program also provided vital connections for Baccanalle. Her instructors – all industry professionals – were not only mentors in the classroom, but remain in her corner to this day. “They were always available for advice after I graduated,” she says.

For those culinary students looking to start their own business, she offers some key advice: “Develop your business plan, and focus on a business you’re passionate about. Make sure the business aligns with your core skills, and bring in partners where you have gaps to fill.

“Understand that it is a tireless exercise,” she adds. “If you’re in the culinary business, when you’re an entrepreneur you are chef, cook, and pot-washer. It’s guts and glory.”

Not to mention heart and Soul.