By Emmett Steele ‘22
Sandra Shlemoon, a recent graduate from the Computer Engineering Technology program, has always had a fascination for electronics, technology, and the way they come together. Her passion led her to pursue a career in computer engineering.
“Since I was a child, I was so curious to know about electricity, electronics, automation, and robotics,” said Sandra. “I would ask, ‘what are they and how they work?’, but the only answer that I got was ‘it’s technology!’ I used to open broken devices to see what was inside of them, how they worked, and sometimes I tried to fix them.”
Before moving to Canada, Sandra lived in Iraq, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering. “I learned about electrical circuits, electronics, power, communication, networking and much more, but I did not study automation or robotics in Iraq,” said Sandra.
Sandra saw the Computer Engineering Technology (CET) program offered at Mohawk College as a way to round out the skills she felt she was missing. “I’ve already worked in industry, but by completing this program, I’ll be able to work in modern automated factories, including those implementing Internet of Things (IoT) and industry 4.0,” said Sandra. “I saw that the program at Mohawk would teach me about automation and robotics. I could also learn about mobile and web applications, which are everywhere these days.”
The CET program wasn’t Sandra’s first experience with Mohawk College. “When I came to Canada, I enrolled in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program to improve my English,” said Sandra. “The LINC program was amazing. They taught us very well, and they introduced us to everything Mohawk College had to offer like the Learning Centre, Mohawk Students Association (MSA), and so on.”
The time that she spent learning through the LINC program helped influence Sandra’s decision to become a student in the CET program. “The quality of teaching and the way that they treated us was amazing,” said Sandra. “I decided to study at Mohawk because I knew that the teaching quality and the instructors’ attitude and behaviour will be the same.”
Three years later, she believes she made the right decision. “Even though I am a mother of three kids, I was able to graduate with Honours, and I understand everything that I was curious about,” said Sandra. “I’m so confident to work in any modern automated factories. I feel lucky to have found the program that fulfilled all my needs at Mohawk College.”
Sandra has a strong message for anyone who has a fascination for electronics but fears they don’t belong. “I strongly encourage all girls or women who are interested in Computer engineering technology to enroll in it, and do not think that you might not be able to do it,” said Sandra. “As many other girls and I did it, you will be able to do it too.”
As a recipient of two scholarships, Sandra Shlemoon would like to thank Mohawk College and the donors who help to make scholarships a possibility for students. She hopes to one day repay the kindness with her own scholarship donations in the future.
