Born in Damascus, Syria, my family immigrated to Sudbury in 1970 where I spent 12 years before moving to Ottawa. I was hired by Eaton’s as dishwasher and quickly moved up through the restaurant ranks. Being accepted into the Management Trainee program, a few short years later, I became a Sales Manager and then Customer Service Manager. I thoroughly enjoyed my 16 years in retail which gave me the knowledge on how to take care of customers, employees and coworkers.