What I Tell International Students About Success
Every year, I speak to hundreds of Pakistani students who want to study in Canada.
They ask thoughtful, serious questions:
Which degree has the best job prospects?
Which program leads to PR?
Which university gives the highest return on investment?
These are reasonable questions. Studying abroad is expensive, emotionally demanding, and often tied to family sacrifice. Wanting stability, opportunity, and a better standard of living is not selfish—it’s responsible.
And yet, after years of counselling students and watching what happens after they graduate, I’ve learned something important.
The students who build the strongest, most satisfying lives are not always the ones who chose the most prestigious programs or the highest-paying careers.
They are the ones who chose paths that allowed them to contribute.
When Education Is Only About the Self, It Becomes Fragile
I’ve seen students who did everything “right” on paper.
They chose popular programs. They targeted rankings. They chased titles. And when things didn’t unfold exactly as planned—when jobs took longer to come, when immigration pathways shifted, when expectations clashed with reality—their sense of self collapsed with it.
When your entire identity is built around what you earn or what status you achieve, any disruption feels like failure.
This is not because these students lacked intelligence or effort. It’s because no one helped them ask a deeper question before choosing their path:
“WHO DOES MY WORK SERVE?”
The Students Who Thrive Ask a Different Question
Some of the most grounded, resilient students chose careers that aren’t always celebrated on social media. They became nurses, technologists, early childhood educators, tradespeople, settlement workers, lab technicians, and community-focused professionals.
Their work is not glamorous. It is often exhausting. But it is meaningful.
When these students face setbacks—and all international students do—they don’t immediately question their worth. They know that even on difficult days, their presence matters to someone else.
That sense of usefulness becomes an anchor.
Canada Quietly Rewards Contribution
One of the things I appreciate most about Canada is that it quietly values people who show up.
When systems are under strain—healthcare, infrastructure, education, public services—Canada doesn’t look for influencers. It looks for people willing to do the work. This is why so many service-oriented careers are in constant demand. It’s also why students who engage with their communities, volunteer, mentor, and care for others integrate more successfully into Canadian society.
Contribution builds trust. Trust builds opportunity.
A Poured-Out Life Is Not a Smaller Life
There is a misconception—especially among anxious students and parents—that choosing a service-oriented career means sacrificing success. In reality, I’ve seen the opposite.
A life poured into others often becomes:
more resilient
more socially connected
more emotionally sustainable
and, over time, more professionally stable
Not every contribution leads to wealth. But every contribution leads to meaning. And meaning sustains people when life becomes uncertain—which it always does.
I Need to Ask Students Different Questions
Today, alongside questions about grades, finances, and visas, I need to also ask students:
Who benefits if you do this work well?
What kind of problems would you feel proud helping to solve?
When have you felt most useful to others?
The answers to these questions often reveal more than test scores ever could.
A Hope I Have for Every Student
My hope is not that students abandon ambition. My hope is that they choose paths where ambition and contribution meet. Because when the night gets difficult—and it will—what sustains us is not our title, our salary, or our LinkedIn profile.
It is the knowledge that we mattered to someone else.
And that, I believe, is a success worth building a life around.
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