Phase Two Participants
Widad Ali
Widad Ali is originally from Iraq and lived in Dubai before immigrating to Canada in 2013. Widad is married and has two
Children.
Carlos Morales
Carlos Morales, born in 1965, is a poet and writer from El Salvador who has lived in Fredericton since 1991. He participates in literary activities and works to promote Latin American culture.
Sagida Elnihum
Sagida is originally from Libya and has over 10 years of experience as a lawyer and legal advisor. She immigrated to Canada 10 years ago, and now is pursuing a degree as a IDST graduate student at UNB. She mainly focuses on issues relating to immigrants and civil rights law. Sagida enjoys hiking, traveling, adventures and lifestyle subjects.
Frank Luo
Frank emigrated from China to Canada.
A.F.N Hassan
A.F.N. Hassan was born in Fredericton to Pakistani parents. A.F.N. aspires to understand and integrate the dichotomies in sense of self that arise from the exposure to two cultures, and hopes the experiences are met with open- mindedness.
Duoyu “Dominic” Xu
Dominic immigrated from Shanghai, China, to Canada at the age of 15. Now he is in his first year of university in Fredericton. He likes the education in Canada, which he describes as lighter and happier, especially when compared with education in China.
Mai Huynh
Mai is a senior chemistry student at UNB. She’s originally from Viet Nam and came to Canada to pursue further education. Beside studying and doing research, she enjoys painting, piano, and reading.
Will and Debbie van den Hoonaard
Will (originally from Holland) and Debbie (originally from the USA) both immigrated to Canada from the United States in 1979 and raised their family of three children in Fredericton. They spent their working lives teaching at UNB and STU, respectively. As Baha’is, one of the primary goals of their marriage and family is to offer hospitality, which is also their definition of feeling at home.
Bianca Prajescu
Bianca immigrated to Canada from Romania at the age of 8. Now she’s in her third year at STU, majoring in Sociology. Aside from academic life, Bianca enjoys drawing, especially to connect with her Romanian cultural roots.
Yuhan Pan
Yuhan was born in 2001. He came to Canada when he was 12 years old and lived in Oakville, Ontario, for 6 years. Yuhan was enrolled in piano performance at Western University but recently transferred to STU in Fredericton for a fresh start.
Ilkay Silk
Ilkay was born in Cyprus, immigrated to the UK in 1953, and immigrated to Canada in 1970. Ilkay has lived in Fredericton for 52 years and has been very active in the performing arts community.
Mara Medeiros & Filipe Dantas
Mara is a fun-fact person who loves food, interesting people and loves stories. She and Filipe have lived in Fredericton since 2019, and they enjoy living in a quiet city with so much nature around. Filipe also loves learning and works in the field of education.
Lily Wang
Lily recently immigrated from China to Canada.
Dr. Haydée Sainz Gimeno
Dr. Sainz Gimeno is an instructor of Spanish at UNB and STU in Fredericton. She completed a Master’s in Adult Education with a specialization in teaching English and Spanish at UNB and a Ph.D. in comparative literature at the University of Valladolid in Spain. Dr. Sainz is a Certified Translator with the Corporation of Translators and Interpreters of New Brunswick, affiliated to the Canadian Translators & Interpreters Council.
Lingling “Lucy” Huang
Lucy was born in 1976 in Zhejiang, China. She was a high school music teacher for almost 20 years. Lucy immigrated to Canada in 2013 and, although she has become a housewife, she still has a passion for singing and performing.