Bushra Rehman was destined to be a lawyer: she naturally tends to emphasize her words, and those close to her know her as a hard-working and determined woman. She has endured law school, and has a thriving law career—all while living in a foreign country.
Rehman studied law at the University of Toronto as an international student, but before that completed her undergraduate studies in computer science in the U.S. on a student visa. Her high school and elementary school years were spent in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
She says her decision to study in North America was influenced by her British school system education, where most students eventually go to North America or the United Kingdom to further their education.
However, her decision to move from the U.S. to Canada is far more interesting. She began her career in the U.S. because of the perception that the U.S. would have better job opportunities than in Canada.
“In the United States, the way the student or work visa works and the way the immigration system is set up is really not conducive to someone wanting to leave their career and explore other options,” she says.
“After you graduate on a student visa, you have to immediately find a job. I didn’t choose to study computer science because I loved it. I chose it more because it would enable me to quickly find a job… and allow me to stay in the United States.”
When she was in the U.S., she says she found the immigration process to be all-consuming, causing her to worry a lot.
“That’s essentially the reason I chose to immigrate to Canada,” she says. “Here, the immigration set-up is really different. You have a longer period within which you can find a job. It gives you a lot more flexibility. The immigration process is so much more welcoming and straightforward. It’s designed to let people stay.”
When Rehman moved to Canada, she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to study. She spent a year and a half applying for jobs, working and—once she’d decided on law school—studying for her LSAT exam.
Rehman says she feels that rather than being a disadvantage, her status as an international student in fact gave her an edge when applying to university and for jobs in Canada.
“Employers like to hear that you have a broad, international background,” she says.
However, despite the fact that she was proficient in English and had experience in a culture similar to Canada’s, Rehman says she felt alone and culturally alienated at times.
“There are a lot of things about the business development aspects of a legal career and the demands of a corporate culture that can be isolating if you’re not naturally inclined toward schmoozing and business network development,” she says. In fact, she recalls feeling a stronger sense of community in the United States. She believes this is because undergraduate school, particularly the one she attended, is set up to largely accommodate international students. She says she remembers that there were students’ associations for many different ethnicities and religions, where students could find people to connect to. But due to the nature of graduate school, and the competitive environment of law school especially, Rehman didn’t feel she had that in Canada.
“Sometimes, I still feel like I struggle to develop a stronger sense of community and belonging here,” she says. However, she is happy to say that she has built a loving family and continues to exceed in
her career. CO
