Yaya came from a background where education wasn’t guaranteed. Despite this she made it to university to pursue midwifery, however she later felt it wasn’t a right fit. Completing her undergrad with a double major in theatre arts and women’s studies, Yaya began working at a bank in anti-money laundering.

While working, she felt something was missing. She wanted to help people and applied to various social service sector jobs, but couldn’t get her foot in the door. Yaya made the decision to go back to school and did a fast-track program in social service work.

Yaya finished school in April 2019 and in May 2019, began working with Homes First.

Working frontline with people in need of support, Yaya felt she wanted to grow in the sector and be able to help even more people. Wanting to put her experiences to use, she enrolled in a project management course at the University of Toronto.

“Once you learn something, you are knowledgeable forever.”

Her hope is that she can put together her skills in social work, finance and customer service to create projects and programs to assist non-profits in supporting people.

Congratulations to Yaya on receiving the HFS Access to Education Scholarship in its inaugural year!