As an international student, Kudakwashe Ndadzungira brings a global perspective to her new job.
Kudakwashe (Kuda) Ndadzungira arrived in Halifax in September 2011 from her home country of Zimbabwe. As her plane descended to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, all Ndadzungira could see were trees.
“I thought, ‘What have I done to myself?’” she says.
Her arrival didn’t help her mood. Her flight was a day late arriving. She was on her own, and missed a welcome team from Dalhousie, who were at the airport the day before greeting international students. The airline also lost her luggage (she got it back a week later).
Things started to improve on the drive into the city.
“I thought, ‘This is pretty cool, this is pretty nice,’” she recalls.
After she settled in, Ndadzungira got involved in campus life. She signed up for the choir in the health professions faculty. She joined the Black Students Advising Centre, where she met other international students, including a number from Zimbabwe. She met more Zimbabwean students at Saint Mary’s University.
“Definitely doing things that I had interests in at home helped me settle in,” she says. “Staying rooted in who you are from home and trying to find that balancing act of this is what I used to do at home, this is me, I don’t want to completely lose myself my first year. I want to get as much of an experience as I can.”
She also realized she had more in common with those in a new city than she expected. She says one of her fears was not finding friends who shared the same sense of humour her friends from Zimbabwe had.
“That was such a lie I told myself,” she says. “People are the same at times.”
Ndadzungira came to Halifax after learning about universities in the city via a Google search. She wanted to come to Canada because she could stay here for three years after graduating. She considered commerce, but decided there was too much math. She eventually applied for the bachelor of science and recreation management at Dalhousie, and was accepted.
She finished her program at Dalhousie in April, and graduated in June. But a contact she made earlier in the year would prove to be a fruitful one for her career. From January to April, Ndadzungira worked an internship at the Waterfront Development Corporation. There, Jennifer Angel, the acting president and CEO of Waterfront Development, introduced her to a recruiter from a local firm. He told her about a job at the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, and in June, the organization hired her membership engagement coordinator.
In her role, Ndadzungira keeps member businesses informed on events and news in the downtown core. She also helps new businesses settle in, and promotes the work of all member businesses, and creates a network between them so they can share advice and experiences.
Through her new job, Ndadzungira is learning more about the city than she did as a student: about the impact of local development, for example.
“You’re seeing all the development that is happening and you’re understanding how it’s affecting the developers and the business owners,” she says. “Whereas before as a student, you’re only seeing your perspective walking through the streets.”
Paul MacKinnon is the executive director at the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. He remembers Ndadzungira came to the interview already recommended by that recruiter.
While the commission hires international students for summer jobs, Ndadzungira is likely its first, full-time hire of a former international student. MacKinnon says he knew right away she’d be a good fit for the job.
“We were won over with her enthusiasm,” MacKinnon says.
The role Ndadzungira took on is a new one. MacKinnon says the commission had someone in a similar contract role before, but decided they needed a full-time person. He says the role requires someone who is self-motived, can make cold calls, and is willing to go out and talk with its 1,600 members.
“A big part of the job is having the right personality,” he says. “Obviously, we want this person to be upbeat and very energetic and be the face of the organization.”
While the commission didn’t have the goal of hiring someone with an international background, MacKinnon says the team is aware of the efforts to make Halifax a more inclusive city, and part of that is looking for opportunities for newcomers.
“It just may be the matter that the best person for the job is someone that is new to Canada,” he says.
And he suggests other employers do the same when hiring for their teams.
“If we are really are going to be serious about having a business community that is reflective of the general community, I think the first step is being aware of why we need to be inclusive,” MacKinnon says. “When our business leaders get together, it’s not reflective of what the community has become. I think that is a real concern.”
As for Ndadzungira, MacKinnon says he expects her to benefit from the job well into her career.
“I don’t expect her to be in the job forever, but we are cognizant of the fact this job will give her a great access to meet all sorts of business leaders in the downtown community,” he says. “I expect her next job opportunity will come through the connections she’s able to make through this position.”
Ndadzungira is still exploring downtown Halifax on her own. She loves the activity and beauty of the waterfront, as well as the fare the city has to offer.
“There are really great restaurants in Halifax and I love to eat,” she laughs.
The connections she’s made worked for her career. But she understands making connections, particularly when looking for work, remains a challenge for international students. She recalls looking for part-time work while in school, and never get calls back. She had more success when she met with prospective employers face to face.
“It is a bit challenging because people will just see your resume and see you name and they might find it difficult to read and that stops them from going the extra step of calling to meet you,” she says. “When they get to know me, they say, ‘Wow, she’s a great candidate for this job.’ That was a challenge, so you have to find a way past it.”
With a new school year just a few months in, Ndadzungira has advice for other international students: sign up for societies and extracurricular activities.
“That opened up so many other doors,” she says. “I got to meet new people who have the same interests. And they introduced me to other people who then got me into other things. There are actually people here who are like people at home.”
She also has advice for employers. She says students who uproot their lives and thrive in a new home and country, are the employees organizations should want.
“That shows ambition,” she says. “It shows drives. It shows someone who knows what they want and they are going to get it. That is someone you want to have in your company. You want someone who is going to do their job well, and love doing it.”
Ndadzungira’s ambition is to get an MBA, her permanent resident status, and eventually a PhD in hospitality and tourism management. And the past five years on her own in her new city has taught Ndadzungira lots about what she can do.
“I have learned I am very innovative, stubborn, and ambitious,” she says. “Once I have something on my mind, I am going to do it. It’s been a good lesson to learn, because there are a lot of barriers that come up. If I didn’t have that strength within myself, I would have given up. It’s been a good lesson.”
Photos by Tammy Fancy/FANCYFREEFOTO.COM
