Canadian Tamil Professionals Association
3280 Bloor Street West, Suite 1140 M8X 2X3 Toronto, ON, Canada

Join us for our second Tamil Heritage Month event on Friday, where we will discuss Tamil art and reflections through storytelling with Vijay Saravanamuthu. Register now for our sessions at bit.ly/CTPATHM2021. Vijay Saravanamuthu is a multi-talented community organizer with a passion for holistic wellness. He is a queer Tamil man living in Toronto and has been meaningfully engaged in equity-seeking work with racialized communities over the last 15 years. Vijay is an arts enthusiast, health researcher and advocate for social justice. Vijay loves to cook, eat, and thrives in the sunshine.

***REMINDER*** Our 2021 Team applications are open again for select positions, including board roles! If you're interested in getting involved with the community and expanding on your skills, CTPA is a great place to be! We have positions available in the following portfolios:... IT Fundraising Internal Relations Communications Mentorship Events The deadline to submit your application is Sunday, January 10. Apply now at bit.ly/2021CTPAPositions.

Thank you Canadian Tamil Medical Association for creating this informative video! Follow them for more videos in Tamil discussing topics about COVID-19.

Our 2021 Team applications are open again for select positions, including board roles! If you're interested in getting involved with the community and expanding on your skills, CTPA is a great place to be! We have positions available in the following portfolios: IT Fundraising... Internal Relations Communications Mentorship Events The deadline to submit your application is Sunday, January 10. Apply now at bit.ly/2021CTPAPositions.

For our international followers, consider checking out the Swiss Tamil Professionals Association - STPA* that was recently established. Their mission is to enhance the cooperation and exchange of Tamil students, entrepreneurs, experienced professionals, and upcoming professionals living in Switzerland and promote dialogue through coordinated exchange events. *not affiliated with the Canadian Tamil Professionals Association.

Awesome tribute by Gary Anandasangaree's team to honour and thank Tamil Canadian frontline workers!

When I was in elementary school, I was severely bullied. That really pushed me into a dark place and I had to figure out how to get out of there. I felt very isolated and internalized everything that was being said about me. The only reason I got out of that mentality was when I moved and attended a different public school. When I got bullied, there was no one there to stand up for me. I only voiced it to my teacher, and he didn’t do anything about it. I wanted to be the per...son that vulnerable people could go to for support and feel heard. That is one of the main reasons why I chose social work. This childhood experience shaped who I am. One of the biggest things I learned was that you have to stand up for yourself. Nobody has your back more than you do. The second thing I learned was that you should never let society define who you are. It can be so easy to fall into that trap. You should define who you are as a person and own it! I am currently doing my Master’s in Social Work at the University of Toronto. Before my Master’s degree, I was doing community work with seniors who are in crisis. I completed home visits to assess the situation and worked with individuals to overcome their crisis, which included food insecurity, unstable housing, financial instability and mental health concerns. I mostly enjoy one-on-one interactions, which I am hoping to continue in a clinical setting, after completing my Master’s degree. My mom has played an important role in shaping who I am today. If I can be 10% of the woman that she is, I’ll be content. She’s been through so much with her health and it hasn’t been easy; but, she’s so strong and determined. She didn’t want her health to stop us from moving forward. My mom constantly pushed my sisters and I to strive for the best. Even when she wasn’t physically present in the home, she was always supporting us and checking in. It’s important to have a good support systemmy family is that for me. The one thing that my sisters and I say in our household is that we are strong, independent Tamil women. Venusha Kalatharan, #IAmATamilProfessional

We at CTPA would to wish you a safe and happy holidays and hope that 2021 brings you well being and success. We look forward to continue connecting with you in the new year!

I love working on different things at the same time because of all the cross-learning opportunities. Conventionally, although we’ve been told to focus on one thing at a time and to master it, I do believe the future will belong to generalists. That’s one thing about me, I love to go against the grain. After graduating with a degree in Computer Engineering and an MBA from the University of Toronto, my friend and I worked on a start-up idea that was focused on IOT in the trucki...ng space. Ultimately it failed because everything about running a business was new to us and back then, there weren’t many programs or incubator spaces for us to tap into. Though we didn’t really make money, we learned a lot and built many connections. That experience became the foundation of my knowledge. In 2013, I co-founded Continyou Care, a cloud-based software provider for senior homes. Originally this product was built for the restaurant space, but quickly pivoted after a fluke meeting with a senior home who saw our feature in the Toronto Star. They became our first client and now we have homes all across Canada. Prior to working on the company full-time, I took on a bunch of odd jobs to make ends meet. The most valuable of these was working in various sales roles. I wasn’t comfortable talking to people, being rejected and pitching ideas, but when you make one hundred calls a day, you get used to it. TamilCulture.com is something I’m very passionate about and am excited to see it grow. We created this platform to have a space online to celebrate and inspire the next generation of Tamil changemakers around the world. Once, a publisher stumbled across a copy of our annual magazine left at a Ravi’s Soups downtown; they were impressed by an article written by one of our writers and reached out to us to connect with them. The writer ended up signing a book deal with the publisher! We have many more stories like this that continue to inspire us to do more. One thing I would tell my younger self is to be authentic and try not to please everyone. Just be yourself and you will attract your tribe of people who will support and challenge you. - Aravinthan Ehamparam, #IAmATamilProfessional Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ara_entrepreneur/ Facebook: TamilCulture Website: https://tamilculture.com/

The proudest moment of my life was becoming a captain at a young age. I got my commercial pilot’s license at the age of 18 years and my command at 21, the youngest in India. I am a pilot instructor from Mumbai, India. My parents are originally from Tamil Nadu, and they have been a big influence on my life. My mom is also a pilot, and we did our initial training together. My mom had to go through a lot of struggle with balancing family on one side and career on the other. She... emerged victorious and now flies the A320 for an Indian airline. Throughout our training, my dad has been a rock-solid support. No matter what happens, he has been there for us and I can count on him. My father was named after Mahakavi Subramaniam Bharathi, and I carry his name as my last name. It gives me great pride to carry a part of his legacy, and it inspires me to do my best in life. Before moving to Canada, I worked in various airlines in India for 12 years. I was a captain for 8 years and then became a pilot instructor. Due to flying, I worked 6 days a week, and was away from home about 20 nights every month. My life was literally just flying, sleeping and instructing, and I didn’t have any time to myself. When I moved to Canada later, I decided to spend more time with what mattered to me. In Canada, I started working purely as a pilot instructor for a simulator manufacturing company. The airlines here are highly unionized, and any outsider joining the airline is not initially able to become a captain or an instructor. Regardless of the individual’s experience, they have to join as a junior first officer, which doesn’t work in my favour. That meant my 13 years of airline experience in India didn’t count when I moved here. I teach pilots on the simulator, as well as at ground classes. It gives me more time to myself and it’s not very demanding. The best part of my job is meeting different types of people and coaching them through their flight training. You need to have a different teaching approach for each individual. The best part of my job would be the satisfaction gained from seeing my student understand a concept I have taught them. - Bavicca Bharathi, #IAmATamilProfessional

As Head of Policy and Governance, Fiona assists with providing strategic direction, drafts and reviews internal policies and ensures compliance with the organization's bylaws. Why did you join CTPA? "Our identity as Tamil Canadians provides us with a unique perspective that shapes how we nativigate our careers. Initiatves such as CTPA's mentorship program allow us to share our diverse experiences as Tamil professionals so that we can gain valuable insight from each other. I ...joined CTPA to both learn how to transform this insight into succesful professional development, and to harness this shared knowledge to better serve our Tamil community. CTPA has allowed me to connect with a diverse group of professionals in our community who I otherwise would not have had the opportunity to engage with. I am proud to be part of an organization that seeks to showcase our vibrant and talented community, and provides a platform for professionals to collaborate to create an even greater impact. Through CTPA I have not only cultivated professional connections, but have also built strong personal friendships." Fiona Martyn is an employment and human rights lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP based in Toronto. She graduated from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, where she completed her law degree in French. In her spare time she enjoys travelling, playing the piano and guitar, and trying new restaurants in the city. Interested in joining our 2021 team? Submit your application before December 7 at bit.ly/CTPAVolunteer2021.

Looking for ways to maximize your career potential? Check out Tamils in Finance's upcoming free webinar on November 12! Panelists Roy Ratnavel, Baanu Ratneswaran and Suganya Tharmalingam, along with moderator Niro Ganesanathan, will be discussing their personal career success as well as tips you can use to advance yours. Register below: ... https://www.eventbrite.com/e/strategies-to-maximize-your-ca See more

Our team member applications are now open! If you're interested in getting involved with the community, strengthening your professional skills and working with other professionals, join our 2021 team. We have positions available in all of the following portfolios: External Relations Finance... Fundraising Internal Relations Marketing & Communications Mentorship Policy & Governance Professional Development & Signature Events The deadline to submit your application is Monday, December 7. Apply now at bit.ly/CTPAVolunteer2021.