Rayven De Ocampo proves that there is no wrong age when it comes to gaining an education and changing career paths.
Rayven came to Canada from the Philippines with a bachelor’s degree in business management and an information technology background. He continued his education journey at Northern Lights College (NLC) with the Applied Business Technology Office Assistant Certificate and now the Health Care Assistant Certificate (HCA).
“I want to have career growth despite my adult age,” he said, “I want to prove that I can still be what I want to be and have a brighter future for my self and family as well.”
At NLC, Rayven took the ABT certificate program back in 2019 in Chetwynd through the online option. It allowed him to complete his studies while also making money to support his family.
“This mode of learning really helped a lot an adult student like me who needs to meet both financial and career growth aspects in life while finishing studies.”
Despite finding success working at both SD59 and Northern Health using his ABT diploma, watching his mother become a senior citizen who needed more assistance helped shaped the idea for the career shift. Never one to shy away from learning new skills, Rayven decided it was time to enter the field of healthcare and enrolled in the NLC HCA program.
Completing this program aligns with his employment goals as well as his values.
“I feel that NLC is not only providing a quality education, NLC also knows how to recognize the hard work of their students. I am so grateful and amazed with NLC.”
“It’s always my passion to assist people in our community and able to share my knowledge and skills for the development of our community.”
During his time at NLC, Rayven took advantage of the NLC Foundation and won some bursaries. This helped elevate some of the financial stress students face.
“The support and assistance along the way to fulfill my goals in life is remarkable,” he said. “This made me realize that there’s no age in pursuing your career growth and goals in life.”