Turning Point with Priya Sam

Based out of Brampton via Toronto, Haviah Mighty is a songwriter, vocalist, producer, and performer. Her music is complex and unique  with rap, song, and instrumentals transitioning seamlessly from hip-hop to soul to Afrobeats. 
 
Haviah's biggest turning point happened in 2016 when she was part of a rap cypher that went viral. That moment gave her the confidence she needed to pour all of her energy into music and pursue it as a career. 

Haviah's next big milestone happened in 2019 when she became the first hip-hop artist and the first Black woman to win the Polaris Music prize. Two years later, she won a JUNO and made history again as the first woman to ever win the Rap Album of the Year category.  

You'll hear more about those big moments and how Haviah's foundation at Fanshawe College helped pave the way for the success she continues to have today. 

This episode was recorded on IG Live on November 29th and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe Alumni as a sponsor for this episode and a partner for this season of Turning Point. 

You can find out more about Fanshawe College's post-graduate programs here: FanshaweC.ca/postgrad

In 2018, Mike Shoreman was thriving. He had a successful paddle boarding business in Toronto and he had just returned from a trip to California full of new ideas for excursions he could add to his business offerings. 

Everything changed when Mike's chicken pox virus was reactivated and he ended up with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. This neurological condition left him with shattered nerves in the right side of his face, hearing impairment and severe reduction in his mobility. Mike needed help doing every day things like showering and he was forced to close his business and move back in with his Mom. The doctors told him he might never paddle board again. Mike fell into a deep depression. As he slowly recovered, Mike knew he wanted to raise awareness and critical funds for mental health programs. 

In 2022, Mike became the first person with a disability to cross all five Great Lakes on a paddle board and he did it all for jack.org, an organization that funds mental health programs for youth. You'll hear Mike's full story including more about his recovery and his documentary, "When Hope Breaks Through", in this episode. 

You can find out more about Mike on his website: https://mikeshoreman.com/

A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredential courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Tara MacLean is a singer and songwriter known for her hit songs, “Evidence” and “If I Fall”. She was discovered singing on a BC ferry (more on that in the episode!) and has toured with Dido, Tom Cochrane and performed at Lilith Fair.

Tara recently released a new book called Song of the Sparrow where she shares her whole life story for the first time. Tara had a difficult childhood where she experienced abuse and instability until a massive fire at her home changed everything. 

Through it all music was her safe space and you’ll hear more about that and her biggest turning points in this interview. 

Emm Gryner is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and best-selling author. Emm sang and played keyboard in David Bowie’s band, and appears on numerous recordings with him. 

In this episode, we take a trip through Emm's biggest turning points including: getting her first record deal and being dropped by her label, touring with David Bowie, becoming a mother, getting divorced and finding new love and inspiration for her new album. 

Emm is down to earth and relatable and she shares valuable insight about what she's learned from each of her pivotal moments. 

Emm and I are both Fanshawe Alumni and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe as a sponsor for this episode! If you're a Fanshawe alum who would like to share your story, you can find more info at fanshawealumnistories.ca

Meera Estrada is a radio host and the founder of Fusia Media, a company engaged in digital lifestyle publishing catered to South Asian Canadian Women.

Her biggest turning point happened when she shared publicly that her family were part of the Dalit caste, also known as the untouchables or the lowest caste in the Hindu caste system. 

Meera found out that her family was in this caste as a teenager but it would be more than 20 years before she said anything about it publicly. Now, Meera uses her platform to raise awareness about the harm casteism causes around the world including in Canada and the US. 

You’ll also hear about how Meera came to found Fusia Media and an exciting upcoming project related to her activism around casteism. 

You can find Meera on Instagram @meera.estrada 

Dan Shaikh is the co-founder of Speaker Slam, a speaker development agency and the organization behind North America's largest speaking competition. 

When Dan was a teenager, he developed a condition known as gynecomastia  which caused him to develop breasts. He hid away behind baggy clothes and tried to fade into the background in general to avoid drawing any attention to himself. 

Eventually, Dan realized he didn't want to live his life this way forever. He started saying yes to new challenges and opportunities and eventually had a life changing surgery. 

You'll hear Dan's full story in this episode from dealing with body dysmorphia to sharing his story to creating a platform for other inspiring speakers.

Julie Lawrence is the editor of the newly launched DEFY magazine. The publication focuses on validating the experiences women have with misogyny in the workplace and offers tips and tools from professionals for how to deal with it. 

Julie’s biggest turning point was getting sober after years of drug and alcohol addiction almost took her life. Julie is raw and open about that period of her life in this episode. She shares that she was in and out of rehab, detox and hospital for years. At one point, her parents wouldn’t even let her in their home unless she took a breathalyzer. She’s now been sober for more than three years. 

In this interview, Julie also discusses becoming sober, learning to see the people around her as teachers and how her experiences with misogyny in the workplace led her to create DEFY Magazine.

Leroy Hibbert is a speaker, workshop facilitator and community educator. He delivers messages of anti-racism, anti-bullying, and cross-cultural conflict and understanding to community and civic organizations, police services, schools and businesses. Through his work, he hopes to help people understand how to identify racism, interrupt it, and take action to create a more inclusive community. 

In this interview you'll learn about Leroy's work and also about his personal experiences with racism and why he's passionate about the work he does. 

Leroy and I are both Fanshawe Alumni and we are so thrilled to have Fanshawe as one of our sponsors for this season of Turning Point. 

Farah Nasser was named Global National's weekend anchor in June, 2022. Shortly before that she was co-anchor of Global Toronto's 6:00 news. Towards the end of her time at Global Toronto, Farah ended up taking a leave of absence. She spent a large part of it going to therapy and unpacking her past including the death of her son. 

In this episode, Farah opens up about her mental health journey and taking the time to do intense therapy that changed her life. You'll also hear stories from her career including how she got her first job and more about her new role on the national stage. 

Bridget George is an an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. Their debut book is a dual Language, English and Ojibwe children’s book, called “It’s a Mitig.”

In this episode, Bridget opens up about taking an unconventional path. As a teen, Bridget was experiencing mental health issues and was expelled from high school but was determined to get an education. They went back and got their GED and then went on to study Graphic Design at Fanshawe College.

The idea for "It's a Mitig" came as Bridget was preparing for the birth of their son, Noah. They wanted Noah to be surrounded by positive Indigenous representation and to learn Anishinabemowin. When Bridget couldn't find the books they were looking for, they decided to write their own. 

You'll hear more about Bridget's journey to being an author along with how they started to reconnect with their Indigenous heritage in this first episode of Season 3. 

We are so pleased to have Fanshawe College as a sponsor again this season! Bridget and I are both Fanshawe alum and we are so thrilled to kick off the season with this interview. 

Mary Berg won Masterchef Canada Season 3 and has since written two cookbooks, hosted two cooking shows (Mary Makes it Easy and Mary's Kitchen Crush), and makes regular appearances on morning shows and talk shows around the country. I'm so thrilled to have her as a guest for episode 50 and the final episode of season 2.

There have been many turning points in Mary's life but the biggest was a tragic accident; when she was just four years old, Mary's family was in a car accident and her father was killed. In this episode we hear about the lasting impact the accident has had on Mary's life and how cooking is a passion that both she and her father share. 

You'll also hear about Mary's big win on Masterchef Canada and how she made the decision to leave her job as an insurance broker. 

A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season. You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredential courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Camille Dundas is a racial equity educator specializing in anti-racism and allyship and she recently released her first online course on inclusive communication. How she ended up doing this work is part of her turning point. It all started with a presentation on another topic that turned into a discussion about hiring diverse candidates during the post-presentation Q&A. After that, she began speaking and doing DE&I workshops locally, nationally and internationally. 

Camille also has extensive journalism experience (part of another turning point you'll find out about in the episode!) both in traditional media and as the co-founder of the online magazine ByBlacks. 

You can find about more about Camille and her online course on inclusive communication here: https://theideapractice.com/

A huge thank you to Fanshawe College for being one of our sponsors this season! You can find out more about Fanshawe's microcredential courses here: FanshaweC.ca/microcredentials

Jennie Painter was one of the first people to talk about the idea of open adoption in Canada. She has spent her career counselling both birth parents and adoptive parents about the benefits of open adoption. In this episode, we learn about how she started working in this field and what changes she would like to see to the system in Canada. 

Before her career in adoption, Jennie was a teacher and her biggest turning point happened when she realized that what she loved most about her job was offering guidance to students. She went back to school while raising three kids to get a degree in social work and found her passion for working in the adoption space along the way. 

Ginella Massa is the host of CBC's Canada tonight and she is also the first TV reporter and anchor to wear hijab in Canada. She made history after her biggest turning point; leaving a full-time job behind the scenes to pursue her dream of being an on-air reporter.

In this episode we also hear about how Ginella was always the chatty kid in class and why she reminds kids that what's pointed out as a weakness can end up being a superpower. Ginella also shares what it's been like to see her influence and impact continue to grow as she worked her way from a smaller market to the national stage. 

Dr. Alika Lafontaine’s biggest turning point happened when he was in medical school. He was the only Indigenous student in his class and after some negative experiences, he was left feeling like he didn’t belong. As he considered dropping out, two people came along who changed everything. 

Dr. Lafontaine is now the President-elect of the Canadian Medical Association and the co-founder of Safespaces Network, an organization that aims to address unconscious bias and racism among healthcare professionals by providing a safe space for patients to report their experiences. 

In this episode you’ll also hear how Dr. Lafontaine was diagnosed with a learning disability as a child and how his parents chose home schooling and why he decided to specialize in anaesthesiology. 

“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/