In 2019, Pauly Singh was feeling apprehensive about making a career change at the age of 41; to do so he would have to return to school. However, after being accepted into Camosun College’s Digital Communications certificate program, Singh’s life was forever changed. He’s now on a mission to help other mature students financially by creating the annual Leap of Faith Entrance Award, for Digital Communications students.
When he was applying to Camosun, Singh couldn’t find any awards, grants, or bursaries being offered to mature students who wanted to go back to school. While his search for financial assistance was off-putting, he didn’t let that stop him.
“I was trying to apply for student loans and stuff, but there’s nothing available for a mature student like me,” says Singh. “I almost didn’t go through with it. I was feeling somewhat discouraged. But then I’m like, no, let’s just do it. So, I did it and paid for it out of my own pocket. I was scared because I’m like, okay, I’m in a classroom with kids half my age fresh out of school.”
While Singh may have been nervous at the start of his program, Camosun Communications chair Lois Fernyhough was a huge support to him during his time at Camosun, which eased his transition.
“I can’t say enough good things about her. Honestly, she’s the reason why I even decided to give back to Camosun because she just shattered every single bad teacher I had in elementary, junior high, and high school,” says Singh. “If there’s no growth in your community, like if your own personal community doesn’t have, or hold, space for you to grow, then you can’t. Lois did that for me and it was just amazing.”
Fernyhough acknowledges the nerves and self-doubt that can occur within a mature student. She was impressed by Singh’s dedication to his classes and would go on to nominate him for the Kerm Carlson Award of Excellence upon completion of his program. He won the award.
“He was pretty nervous about getting back to school and I gathered that he had been out of the education system for some time,” says Fernyhough. “So, this was a big step for him to return. He was a little hesitant about his ability to take on academic courses, but he really, really worked hard at it, to understand the material, and made the most of his time. I could just see this sort of change coming over him; he became confident. He had that leap of faith, I think, and it paid off.”
After continuing to Royal Roads University and receiving a bachelor’s in Professional Communications, Singh decided to give back to Camosun by selling his woodworking to fund his yearly award. Singh says that he hopes to provide encouragement to mature students who may be on the fence about returning to school.
“How many other people are out there in the same boat as me and are scared to go back to school because of past teachers, or they don’t have the financial opportunity, or they just don’t have the right motivation or encouragement? And then I’m sitting there and I’m like, well, I want to say thank you to Lois, thank you to the school, and the program itself to kind of keep that going, because positivity feeds positivity,” says Singh. “I called this The Leap of Faith Award because that’s exactly what I did. I just went into a leap of faith, not knowing what was going to happen. I just did it and came out with flying colours.”