Kassi – Starting a New Era as a Business Administrator  

Kassi has had an interest in pursuing a career as a business administrator since she was just a kid. “I grew up watching my mom work as a business admin and in a few accounts payable/receivable jobs over the years, and I always thought it was interesting.”  

Diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), Kassi didn’t take much schooling after high school aside from a short course. “It’s pretty tough just doing regular tasks with GAD, so going to school wasn’t really something I thought of until more recently.”  

Kassi started looking at school options in 2021, but found they were difficult to get into, and they didn’t offer a lot of supports for someone with disabilities.  

She often walked by MaKami’s Calgary campus with her stepchildren before finally deciding to walk in. “I had gone to a few other schools inquiring about their programs, but their registration process seemed very intimidating and complicated, and they didn’t seem to offer many supports to help with my anxiety. MaKami is also right next to the train station so I could take public transportation, so all those factors made me decide to give this school a try.”  

As soon as she enrolled, Kassi knew she had made the right decision.  

“At MaKami it’s been fun and easier to learn. It’s more geared towards people like me who have difficulties learning. The staff have all been so helpful. They helped me get disability funding and have taught me how to learn with my anxiety disorder, which is nice. I have even been able to see a psychologist for free which has been so helpful as you usually have to pay for that.” 

She has also found the curriculum to be engaging. “Everything so far has been fun and interesting and useful for me. There’s been some stuff which I thought I knew a little bit about, and this program has actually given me a new perspective on my day-to-day stuff which I may have thought I knew about. It’s nice to re-learn new ways to put a different spin on what I’ve already learned or thought I knew.” 

Kassi is already putting her new skills to work in her field and hopes to work in the same field as her mom. “This is like a new era for me,” she says. “At the end of the day I’m hoping for a better life for me and my family. Now that my step kids have seen me go back to school at my age, I hope I will inspire my kids to have a better life too.”