John Montefiore's path to graduation from the University of Toronto was a little unusual. He recently completed his bachelor's degree(学士学位) which he started in1995.

Montefiore left university in 1996 and tried to tell himself that a degree wasn't necessary for personal success. But it remained unfinished business until he made the decision to return in 2018 at the age 42. At that time, his job development stalled, so he made up his mind to go back to school in order to improve himself and work well in future.

The second time around, Montefiore never missed a class and always sat in the front row. He found many courses invaluable and he received the Award of Excellence twice. He found support services played an important role in his successful return. He said, “I hadn't written a paper for years, so I found the college writing centre to be of great use. Before I handed in a paper, they would give me feedback, which was really great. The university has so much built in to help students succeed and I'm so thankful for that.” But he also met difficulties this time. As a student much older than others, he found it harder to make friends with classmates.

However, no matter what had happened before, he finally got his bachelor's degree. He said, “After all these years, I had thought it wouldn't mean anything, but it means a lot. I totally understand the value of education now. It's not necessarily the value that other people see in it, but the value it gives me as a person, for my confidence and my self-esteem. It also helps me prepare well before I re-enter the workplace.”

“Every life is a boat, the dream is the boat sail.” Every child has a dream of what they want to be. When Renee Butts was little, her dream was to become a volunteer fire fighter because her father was one. Sadly, when she was 14, her beloved father died and she was never able to do volunteer work with him. However, Renee’s story didn’t end there. She was determined and never gave up, which makes for a good firefighter.

Now Renee is a member of the Carmel Fire Department, where she is required to be an Emergency Medical Technician. She should also be ready to deal with any emergency, like fighting a fire, dealing with a car accident or helping someone who’s sick. Sometimes she is in the driver’s seat or using the water pump. Renee works nine to eleven days a month on 24-hour shifts. She also has a family to care for, as her husband is also a busy fire fighter. Dealing with housework and working so much can show her great determination.

When I asked Renee what the best part of her job was, she replied, “Helping people and saving lives.” I think that shows signs of being a true hero. She’s always willing to do anything for anyone in need. Renee says that her job is frightening at times, but extremely exciting. “The worst part of my job is that I see death. Actually, sometimes people die in the accident, for which I am very sorry.” With 140 people in her station, Renee is one of the only three women, but that doesn’t bother her. She says everyone can get a fair shot and do the same jobs.

I was inspired by this because I knew I would be very scared to do her job and didn’t know if I could handle seeing people die. We would never live without people like her who have the courage to risk their lives. Renee’s determination rubs off on me and makes me believe that I can do anything.

When I was nine years old, I never dreamed that the small vending machine (自动售货机) I had owned would turn me into a small business owner. Wanting to inspire his daughter’s business sense, my dad brought home a vending machine he had purchased from a friend. Setting it down in front of me in our living room, he asked in all seriousness, “Do you want to start a business?” I said yes.

I owned 15 vending machines by the time I left high school, with all of the profits going toward my college fund. In addition to being a great bonding experience for my family, I couldn’t tell you how many skills I learned from starting and developing my own business that helped me gain responsibility. I learned that not every experience in life led to the comforting encouragement: Well, you were tried. You should face bravely all kinds of difficulties.

Understanding both personal and professional finances is one of the most important life lessons to learn—the earlier, the better. I had to be fearless and confident—learning these skills at a young age saved me from speaking with difficulty through presentations later in life. Truly understanding what you’re selling displays confidence and reliability, as does truly believing in it. Comprehending the ins and outs of your product and business shines through when speaking with clients though rejection (拒绝) happens all the time.

Throughout the unbelievable experience of running my own business in my childhood, I’ve learned valuable skills that help me in my school, job and personal life. I believe in the value of customer service. I go after clients and chances and understand that sometimes things don’t go my way. With the help of my parents and customers who supported me, I grew up as a young entrepreneur with skills to keep for the rest of my life.