MEET WAHEED A. TAIWO
Student, alumnus, KPU staff member, volunteer, mentor, and establisher of three student award endowments at KPU Waheed came to KPU in May, 2011 as an international student. He grew up in Nigeria and formed a deep love of education at an early age. He first studied internationally in Finland at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, which has a student exchange agreement with KPU, so he decided to come and study in Canada. He loved it here. “The students and instructors were very friendly, the learning was very engaging, and I had more fun studying here.” It didn’t take much, he says, to convince his wife, Bola, to join him as an international student at KPU herself. And the two have made Canada, and KPU, their home. “My plan wasn’t to be a life-timer!” he laughs. Yet here he is, 10 years later. Waheed has earned a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Human Resources Management (2015), a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Accounting (2020), a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration – Global Business Management (2021) and is currently studying for a Diploma in Computer Information Systems. He looks forward to when KPU will introduce Masters programs. Right from the start, Waheed volunteered on campus, joining the Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) START program in 2011. In 2014 he volunteered at the KPU Foundation event where KPU’s Civic Plaza Campus was announced, and became a Student Engagement Peer supporting events hosted through the KPU Future Students’ Office. Waheed also served as an orientation leader to welcome new students to KPU and as a peer mentor in the Learning Centre. Waheed served on the KPU Alumni Association Board of Directors 2015-2017. In 2015 he was elected to the KSA as a business student representative, and became Vice President of Finance and Operations. At this time, he also started the Kwantlen Entrepreneurial Students Association club (KESA).
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Waheed’s first employment at KPU was as a Student Assistant with the IT department in 2011. As a student employee, he went on to serve as a Student Research Assistant/Lead at the Learning Centre, working in various roles until March 2015, when he joined the KSA. Waheed became a staff member at KPU in February 2016 with KPU International as an International Recruitment and Admissions Support Assistant. Waheed is currently Student Success Coach, Post-Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs, in the KPU Melville School of Business. As a student Waheed excelled, and as a tireless volunteer on campus, he was an excellent candidate to receive donor-funded student awards. Receiving these left a lasting impression. When asked why he established his own named student award endowments (which he has built through payroll donations and matching KPU Family Campaign contributions, since his employment at KPU began), he had this to say: “For two reasons. The first is because someone showed me the importance of going to great lengths to support our students. During my work at the Learning Centre, I saw the lengths that the Director, Lyn Benn, would go to help alleviate students’ issues. Although I worked there for less than a year, she managed to ignite in me a passion for supporting our students. I can say that much of what I have done to support our students since then was because of her influence. Second, I have benefitted greatly from my work as a KPU volunteer. It improved the quality of my network, enhanced my student experience, and gave me many skills that have been instrumental to my career growth. Through the endowments, I am hoping that other students will also benefit from being a volunteer. I’d be happy if my endowments can help our students' careers and support them in becoming a better version of themselves.”
