Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
Immigrant Stories

Meet the GARG Family

By Petrina D'Souza, 19 Mar, 2018
  • Meet the GARG Family

 “Getting a job was troublesome but when I realized that you need to start from the bottom and work your way up, there was no looking back." 

 
 
Amit Garg works at RBC Royal Bank as a Commercial Account Manager
 
Sarika Gupta works at Boeing Canada as a Test Analyst
 
Arav is eight and Arjun is three years old
 
 
One of the main reasons Amit Garg came to Canada was to be close to his family in the United States of America. His whole family lives in California. During his young adult days, Amit decided not to move to the USA as he wanted to make a life in India. Eventually when he decided to make the move, he met with an unfavourable situation. “It was too late as I was over 21. Therefore I decide to come to Canada in 2003 and finally moved to BC which is closer to California,” explains Amit who visits his family in the US almost every year. “We sometimes drive to San Francisco!”
 
Amit describes his first impressions of Canada as being “a beautiful country with equality, honesty and low crime rate.” He came as a student and stayed with his uncle in Toronto for a few days; then moved to the basement with his friend. It did not take much time for Amit to adjust to the new surroundings as he had studied in Switzerland prior to his move to Canada. “After my studies I moved to Edmonton and worked in hotels for about 18 months. Then I decided to finally move to Vancouver, BC, in 2005,” says Amit, who now lives in Surrey with his wife and two children.
 
 
 
Like most immigrants, a difficult phase in his life was getting a job. “I had work experience, but I couldn’t get any job in the hotel industry. I did odd jobs like working in a restaurant, delivering courier and selling insurance. I was the only one working on a minimum wage to support the family, it was a difficult time,” recalls Amit who by then was married to Sarika and expecting their first baby. Ultimately, on Sarika’s insistence and referral from a friend, Amit got a job at the RBC Royal Bank Call Centre. 
 
“I performed really well and got promoted fairly quickly. After working several years on the personal financing side of the bank, I moved to the commercial side of the bank which was my target,” shares Amit who is now a commercial account manager at RBC. In 2011, the Garg family bought a house in Surrey, meanwhile Sarika got a job, and in 2014 they were blessed with their second baby. “Life is good since then, no complaints,” expresses Amit. 
 
Looking back at his journey, Amit is happy that his life shaped out well despite the challenges. “Getting a job was troublesome but when I realized that you need to start from the bottom and work your way up, there was no looking back. It was a roller coaster ride from 2003 to 2008 but after joining RBC and after Sarika’s stable job we were able to progress very fast,” he notes. 
 
 
The Gargs state that they like everything about Canada. “There are opportunities if you know what are you doing, I see a safe future for my kids, and what else do you want?” says Amit in conclusion.
 
Resolutions made for yourself or family:
 
To adopt the Canadian values and pass it on to my kids. 
 
Advice for immigrants:
 
My biggest advice is that we should follow and respect Canadian values and help each other and live a peaceful life. 
 
Memories of your homeland:
 
Friends and time spent with them.

MORE Immigrant Stories ARTICLES

Meet the Sekhon Family

Meet the Sekhon Family

Jodhpreet and his family are living a content life in Canada and have successfully overcome the struggles they faced during their early days in the country. 

Meet the Jaya-Madhavan Family

Today, Sobhana is the associate vice-president (AVP) of external relations at Simon Fraser University. As AVP, Sobhana is excited to have the opportunity to use her knowledge of BC’s public service while working with government and other diverse partners, including First Nations leaders and communities, to strengthen the engagement between them.

Meet the Dutta Family

My wife Anna and I plan to take more risks and expand our leadership development company internationally, to reflect on what we have more and live in a state of gratitude every day and to leave a legacy by helping people find their true purpose and happiness in life. Our company, my books and our foundation KRE-AT Smiles will be our legacy to our family and those we have helped.  

Immigrant story: Meet the Prasad family

Immigrant story: Meet the Prasad family

Be prepared to take up any type of work initially to get established in the new country. Take courses through night school to advance one’s choice of skills. I encourage others to volunteer to stay active in mind and body, make connections and continue to learn. Work hard and try not to get discouraged as Canada is a wonderful country and an opportunity to move forward.

Meet the Kumar family

It was work that brought Praveen Kumar Vijaykumar and his wife Reshmi Vishwanath to Canada in 2012.

Meet the Bhan Family

Like most immigrants, the Bhans faced two major challenges on moving here – dealing with the weather and finding a job.

PrevNext