Today we will share the inspiring story of Nida Shakeel on how she carved her career despite setbacks and disappointments. In her own words:
 
Assalam o Alaikum. My name is Nida Shakeel. I came to Canada in August 2016 with my husband and 3 sons Masha Allah. They are 16, 14 and 10 years old. I have a Masters degree in Public Administration from Karachi University in Pakistan with the major of HR.
 
After coming to Canada I worked in a chemical company named Maxxam for 3 months as a Human Resource Assistant. It was an unpaid co-op job but I was told that at the end of co-op term I would receive a permanent job offer. On the last of co-op I discovered that they had cut down their budget and there was no more hiring for that position.
 
It was one of the most depressed days of my life as I eagerly and desperately wanted to be hired and get paid. I felt shattered and broken, and cried silently while standing on the bus stop, on my way back home in the temperature of -25. It was such a gloomy day but my husband supported me so much emotionally that I cant even describe in words.
 
As I do not believe in losing hope,  I started searching for jobs again but apparently every effort was going in vain. I tried to start home based cooking business but even that idea did not work for me. People started taking advantage of my situation: One lady asked me to cook as a testing sample for a big order. I cooked biryani, veal qorma and kheer on cost-to-cost basis and ended up with getting no order. Then another lady ordered a big batch of biryani and was suppose to pick at 10 am in the morning, I kept on waiting and waiting with the prepared order and she never appeared either, nor picked up the call. I was shattered again.
 
Then one day, one of my teacher from KU called me (she is my mentor and I love her) and told me about work from home for Arise Virtual Solutions. To cut the long story short, I started working for Arise in 2018, and now Alhamdulillah, I am an IBO (Independent Business Operator) of Arise,and now many people are working from home through my platform.
 
I love to help people, so other than Arise, I started to volunteer for an organization called Being ME – Muslimah Empowered Toronto. This is a non profit organization and my job is to arrange and book flights and tickets for the renowned Muslimah speakers who they invite for their annual conference. I am also a moderator for Muslim Moms of (Mississauga / Oakville &) all GTA group which is part of MuslimMoms.Ca and we have more than 20k members,in this group alone. I would like to thank Erum Zehra for giving me this opportunity. Other than this, I work as a donor care officer for am emerging non-profit Muslim charity organization Penny Appeal Canada.
 
I always try to spread positivism and am always willing to help others. My message to everyone is: Always stay positive because optimism keeps you motivated and gives you courage to try new things, and never give up, no matter what.
 
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