“You are capable of anything,” is a message Zoshia Fraser broadcasts proudly.
Growing up on a small, family-run dairy farm in Belnan, Nova Scotia, Zoshia is no stranger to hard work.
“In grade one I was diagnosed with a learning disability,” Zoshia explains. “My parents were told I wouldn’t be able to go into academia and to prepare me for the working world. I’ve had to work twice as hard as other students to get the same mark but I knew I could do it.”
Upon entering the Faculty of Agriculture she was awarded one of the Faculty’s top renewable scholarships, the Atlantic Scholar Award. The scholarship recognizes academic excellence and a commitment to community through extracurricular activities. She is now graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Agriculture), with a major in Animal Science and has come this far through a lot of hard work and determination.
The campus community has become Zoshia’s second family over the years. “I finally found my place. I never really fit in before, then I came here and I fit right in. I met friends I know I’ll have for the rest of my life.”
For the last four years, Zoshia has been co-chair of the Agricultural Campus chapter of World University Services Canada (WUSC) a non-profit organization that helps bring refugees to Canada to attend university.
“You get to see the difference you’ve made in someone’s life every day,” says Zoshia. “You get to hear the refugee’s story and know the effect you’ve had and that you were a part of the opportunity they have been given. Without the WUSC team they wouldn’t have the opportunity.”
Following convocation, Zoshia will be heading to Saint Mary’s University to begin her master’s degree in Applied Science, where she will be researching red clover isoflavones.
The article is part of a series of profiles on members of the Class of 2016. Read all of our grad profiles. Spring Convocation takes place May 13 in Truro and from May 30 to June 4 in Halifax.