Filipinos Success’ Stories:
Kaya Ko; Kaya Mo!
If I can; You surely can!
By Marianne Rosal
Life takes different twists and turns. For Margaret Amangyen, this was definitely the case. Margaret came to Canada through the Temporary Foreign Worker program as a worker in the food industry back in 2009. Her experience included working for Tim Hortons, KFC, Arby’s, and Taco Bell. Like many kababayans who move to Canada for better opportunities, Margaret took these positions to get a foot in the Canadian door.
In the Philippines, she was holding a position as Pharmacist in one of the Philippines’ largest pharmacy chains, Mercury Drug. She had been hoping to start Medicine School and fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a doctor.
The hardest part of moving to Canada was not only adjusting to a different field of work, but also getting accustomed to an entirely different system. But determined to make the most of it, she says, “As soon as I made a decision to come to Canada, I had to embrace the challenge that comes with it.”
She finally received her permanent residency status in 2014 and her life took a new turn when she took her Mortgage Associate Licensure Exam right after obtaining her PR status.
When asked if finance was always what she wanted to do growing up, Margaret says no. “My interest diverted to finance as I see more people getting more challenges managing their own personal and business finances and that’s risking their health at some point,” she states. After becoming involved with personal development seminars and self-learning, she found that her passion truly lied in finance instead of medicine.
Now, Margaret is the only Filipino-Tagalog and Ilokano-speaking BMO Mortgage Specialist all throughout Edmonton. She took in various job offers from reputable banks in Edmonton due to the rising population of Filipinos and the need for accessible mortgage specialists in this growing community.
Margaret feels accomplished when she sees a Filipino family finally getting their own home. “I find that the finance industry, especially mortgages, is too complicated and as an immigrant, it is something I need to fully understand for me to serve my community in a better way,” she states. To Margaret, looking at their happy faces and receiving unending words of gratitude gives her the motivation. She has been awarded the Top Broker Awardee with Mortgage Alliance in 2018.