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“Sometimes that’s all a person needs is to just know that somebody sees them…That little spark of hope can ignite a blaze.”This quote from Calan Breckon's episode is still on my mind. Calan is a life coach and his biggest turning point came from a low point when he didn't know how he was going to pay his rent. After hitting rock bottom, he got a job offer that changed everything: he moved to Dubai to be a flight attendant. Calan is also a co-host on the Gay Men Going Deeper podcast, and in this interview he talks about how he uses his own experiences along with his life coach training to work with a diverse group of clients. You can find out more about Calan on his website: https://www.discoveringyourtruth.com/

Dionne Sinclair is VP Clinical Operations and the Chief Nurse at CAMH, Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital. Her biggest turning point happened when she was laid off from her job as a nurse. At the time, she had two young kids and decided to move back in with her parents so she could go to university. She already had a diploma from Fanshawe College and getting her degree would open doors for her in healthcare leadership. In this episode, Dionne shares her story of moving around the province to gain the career experience that would eventually lead to the position she has now. She also talks about how the murder of George Floyd led to her working on improving diversity, equity and inclusion in healthcare. This interview was recorded at a live event sponsored by Fanshawe College. Dionne and I are both Fanshawe alum and Turning Point is thrilled to have the college as a partner this season. 

Everyone who knew Michelle Kwok as a child knew she wanted to be a doctor. She was already doing health research in high school and often talked about her dream of going to medical school. It wasn't until she started university at a school where no one knew about her childhood dream that she started to think about what would truly make her happy. As she started exploring different options by joining clubs and working on innovative projects and campaigns, she realized that business and entrepreneurship were calling her name. The biggest turning point came when she told her family about wanting to change the course of her future. You'll also hear how this 23-year-old founded and sold her first company and the advice she would give to anyone trying to find a career that truly makes them happy. 

Humza Mian is known in drag as Mango Lassi. In this episode, we start by hearing about Humza's childhood and the pressure he felt to be hyper masculine. It was meeting a queer, brown person who was living his life happily that changed everything for Humza when he was in his late teens. We'll also find out about Mango Lassi's rise to fame in the world of drag and how she made a splash by being one of the first Queens to do Desi drag. 

Vanessa Ferlaino was 23 years old when her father died from brain cancer. It was around the same time that she left an abusive relationship and decided to move across the country. The move to Calgary marked a major turning point in her life. One of the most impactful decisions she made after her move was to take acting classes, which is where she says she was finally able to start processing her emotions.In this episode you'll hear about how acting,  journaling, and gratitude helped Vanessa through her darkest moments and why she decided to write her book, Human, with the hope of using her experience to help others. You can find out more about Vanessa here: https://vanessaferlaino.com/

Daniel MacQueen was in his twenties and living in the UK when he started getting terrible headaches. The first time he went to the hospital, he was told he had vertigo and advised to get his eyes checked. He went to an optometrist and that appointment ended with Daniel being sent back to the hospital. Hours later, he was having emergency brain surgery. In this episode, you'll hear how that turning point changed the course of Daniel's life. He tells us how he stayed focused on recovery despite a major set-back, and how routine and ongoing goal-setting have helped him return to work and achieve new milestones. Daniel also has his own podcast which you can find here: https://anchor.fm/playlooselooktight/episodes/007-Life-before--during-and-after-a-traumatic-brain-injury-Part-12-e153c3l

Zeba Khan is the founder of Free Periods Canada and her biggest turning point happened after she watched a video showing the discomfort that people experience when they don't have access to menstrual products. It led her to buy and distribute pads and tampons to homeless shelters in Vancouver. Her next step; putting out a call to action on Facebook for others who wanted to do the same. Before she knew it, she was part of a coordinated effort to create menstrual equity, which eventually became Free Periods Canada.This grassroots initiative also changed the course of her education. In this episode you'll also learn more about her childhood in Bangladesh, her move to Canada, and why she's so passionate about making menstrual supplies accessible to anyone who needs them.

Erika Casupanan is the first Canadian and the first person of Filipino descent EVER to win Survivor. She's also the first woman to win in several seasons and in this episode we get all of the details about her strategy and what was going on behind the scenes and. It's no surprise that winning Survivor is Erika's biggest turning point. You'll also hear about other pivotal moments in her life including: the impact of growing up in an immigrant family, her experience being underestimated in her communications career, the decision to quit her job before competing on the show and if you're a fan, you'll enjoy hearing about how the hourglass changed everything. This episode was recorded at a live event on January 26th as part of Turning Point's partnership with Fanshawe College where Erika and I both studied. If you're a Fanshawe alumni and you have a story to share, you can submit it here: https://www.fanshawealumnistories.ca/

Inventor Erfan Nouraee is just 19 years old and his work is already being recognized by the United Nations; He received an award for his most recent invention in 2021. Erfan has been on the path of being an inventor since he was a child. He started with household items; one of his first creations was a pair of goggles with fans on the sides for his mom to wear when she was cutting onions. In this episode, you'll also hear Erfan explain why failure is so important to the invention process and why he focuses on encouraging youth to pursue innovative projects especially around sustainability. 

Dr. Jenny Liu has a new take on how we should define resilience. I found it refreshing that she doesn't limit her definition of resilience to innate qualities, but also connects it to external factors (more on that in the episode). Jenny's research on resilience started after one of her biggest turning points; reporting a man who had been cyberstalking her. It happened while she was a graduate student and the incident changed the course of her studies. In this episode, we hear about Jenny's childhood and how she had a tough time feeling a sense of belonging after moving to different countries, how she ended up in Canada, and how her turn to resilience research lead her to develop the Multi-system Model of Resilience (you can learn more about that here: https://msmrtool.com/)

Mani Jassal is a fashion designer who focuses on luxury evening and bridal wear inspired by South Asian fabrics and culture with a western twist. Her biggest turning point; the moment her father came around and decided to support her dream of being a designer. He initially hoped she would pursue engineering but after seeing how talented she was as a designer, he had a change of heart. The company became a family affair starting with a trip to India to source fabrics and find inspiration. You'll hear more about Mani's first home studio, her move to a bigger space when her collections started taking off and her reaction when celebrities like Ashanti, Madison Beer and Baby Rexha started wearing her designs. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can learn more about Fanshawe's post-graduate programs here: FanshaweC.ca/postgrad

Adrian Sutherland is a singer, songwriter and advocate from the Attawapiskat First Nation. His biggest turning point happened in 2016 when he left his position as CEO at a development company to pursue music and spend more time with his family. In this episode, Adrian shares the moment he made the decision and the challenges and rewards of making such a drastic change. We also hear about his passion for music and how he has used his platform to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, the impact of residential schools and the ongoing water quality issues that some Indigenous communities continue to live with. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredentials courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Parween Mander is a Millennial Money Coach and her passion for helping others manage their finances comes from her biggest turning point; when she was 16-years-old, her family almost lost their home. Parween's parents didn't speak much English so she was going from bank to bank with them and relaying the information when their mortgage applications were denied. Eventually they were able to get the financing they needed but the experience stuck with Parween and motivated her to learn more about financial security. She now uses her experience and education to help other women of colour overcome their financial traumas and build generational wealth. You'll hear more about Parween's turning point and her trauma-informed approach to financial counselling in this episode. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can learn more about Fanshawe's post-graduate programs here: FanshaweC.ca/postgrad

Ayomide Bayowa is Mississauga, Ontario's Poet Laureate and in this episode we hear how poetry has shaped who he is today. It all started with a turning point in high school in Nigeria when he first felt a connection to poetry. Ayomide isn't afraid to take on tough topics either. After the death of Ejaz Chowdry, a man killed by Peel Police during a mental health incident, Ayomide wrote a poem dedicated to him and read it at a city council meeting. You'll hear the poem and more about why he wrote and read it in the episode along with how he became the poet laureate and what inspires his writing. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's continuing education courses here: FanshaweC.ca/CE

Dr. Andrew Boozary grew up in a house where human rights and inequity were often topics of conversation. His mother was trained as a human rights lawyer and his father is a doctor who came to Canada as an Iranian refugee and went back to school in order to practice medicine in Canada.  Advocacy and a passion for equity in healthcare continue to be a big part of Andrew's life. He started his post-secondary journey pursuing a degree in economics but quickly realized that healthcare was his passion. That decision meant taking a detour and leaving university to go back and take high school science classes before pursuing his medical degree. His biggest turning point happened during the pandemic when he saw first-hand how seniors, the homeless population and racialized communities were being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Along with the work he does on the front lines, he's also been using his platform to highlight these inequities and you'll hear more about why in this episode. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's continuing education courses here: FanshaweC.ca/CE

Perdita Felicien became a household name in Canada as a world champion hurdler in her early twenties. Recently, she shared her family's story in her book, My Mother's Daughter, where we learn that the hurdles that were part of her track and field career came after her family overcame some major hurdles of their own. Her mother Catherine came to Canada to be a nanny and earned minimal wages while being treated horribly by some of her employers. Perdita, her mother and sister also ended up in a women's shelter after fleeing her abusive father. You'll hear more of her story in this interview including her biggest turning point; when her mother was provided with a home of her own and was able to have autonomy over her life.We also discuss Perdita's incredible athletic career (including how life changed after her world championship win in 2003), her transition to sports broadcasting and what's next for her. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredentials courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Jodie Pappas is the founder of the vegan, cruelty free beauty company, Clean Kiss. In this interview, we go back to her twenties for her biggest turning point; discovering she had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). She and her husband were trying to have a baby at the time and this lead to her needing fertility treatment. She was one of the lucky ones and ended up having a daughter and later twins. The next turning point for her came when she says she "took the wellness diet too far" and she developed an unhealthy obsession known as Orthorexia. She talks openly about how it impacted her life and how she sought treatment. We end with her latest turning point; creating her brand Clean Kiss. Jodie went back to school to become a certified plant-based Skincare Formulator and started creating her own products. Clean Kiss focuses on pro-aging messaging and you'll hear more about why that's important to Jodie in this episode.A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's continuing education courses here: FanshaweC.ca/CE

Keely Shaw was the first Canadian Paralympian to win a medal at the Tokyo Paralympics but her journey to this bronze medal wasn't easy. After some dark times dealing with an eating disorder, she credits cycling with saving her life. At the age of fifteen, Keely was an elite hockey player with Olympic dreams when she was injured in a freak accident after falling off her horse. She ended up in hospital in an induced coma and when she eventually came out she had lost mobility in the left side of her body.  While most of that came back over time, she wasn't able to play hockey at the same level. Over the next few years, Keely was hospitalized for an eating disorder and she describes these years as some of the darkest times in her life. That all changed after a major turning point in 2017 when someone suggested she consider competing in para-sport. She chose cycling and after her first race, she says her "inner-athlete was alive and well again." She began training for competition and a few short years later, she's on a new track with a renewed sense of hope. A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can learn more about Fanshawe's post-graduate programs here: FanshaweC.ca/postgrad

Valerie Azinge has always loved cooking, baking and finding creative ways to make delicious and healthy meals. While her passion for food has been part of her life since she can remember, a life changing accident gave her a new perspective. Valerie was seriously injured when she and her friend were hit by a drunk driver, her friend was killed. During her recovery, Valerie was offered the opportunity to create a cookbook and despite the circumstances she said yes. In this episode, you'll hear Valerie's incredible story of resilience and determination and find out why developing the cookbook became both a healing journey and a labour of love.A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredentials courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

We're kicking off Season 2 of Turning Point with an episode we recorded at a live event as part of Turning Point's partnership with Fanshawe College. Cheryl Hickey is a Fanshawe alum who you likely recognize from ET Canada. She has been hosting the show since it launched in 2005 and in this episode you'll find out how late nights spent learning to edit and do camera work eventually lead to Cheryl getting her big break. You'll also hear about why she took a job as chopper reporter despite her fear of heights and what she's looking forward to in the next phase of her career.A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's continuing education courses here: FanshaweC.ca/CE