Lelise left her native Ethiopia because her fiancé (now husband) was living in Canada. He had fled the country due to a civil war that made finding work impossible. In her home country, Lelise had finished university and was working as a civil engineer. Her qualifications, however, are not recognized in Canada and she may have to go back to school in order to continue in her chosen career and field.

Lelise likes life here in Thunder Bay, even though the cold and the style of speech have taken some getting used to. Upon arriving in Canada, Lelise was surprised by how quickly Canadians speak. While her English is quite good, Lelise still finds that a language barrier exists due to different speech patterns and accents.

Shortly after arriving in Thunder Bay, Lelise attended a Job Search workshop at the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association. She credits accessing this service with aiding her to find two part-time jobs. While she is working, it is not in her field and she plans to take the necessary steps to resume her career as a civil engineer as soon as possible. Lelise feels that the hardest part of immigrating to Canada is missing her family back in Ethiopia.