Lubna Forzley - MA in Professional Communication (MAPC)

I am Lebanese born, but was very fortunate to have the chance to immigrate to Canada at a young age. My experience living in a new culture was an extraordinary one that taught me so many new qualities in life and made me reflect on cultural differences. My interest in studying communication came at a very young age. I wanted to use communication as a tool to minimize cultural differences and promote effective human development.

I found my way back to Lebanon where I pursued a career with the United Nations. I have always dreamed of working at the UN because I am a very humanitarian person by nature, and have always made a commitment to support human development and social change. So I put my Canadian education, work experience, and volunteer work to good use to manage a project that aimed at enhancing relations between the corporate and public sector.

Working for the United Nations strengthened my belief in community development, and allowed me to realize my mission in life - to positively contribute to lives of others in need. My passion is to build a career in promoting and communicating different human development causes. So, in an effort to achieve my dream, I sought to use communication and media as tools to promote social change.

Although my job provided me with a great experience, I felt there was room for more development. That’s when I decided to pursue a graduate degree in communications. When I came across RRU’s website, I was impressed with the diversity of educational options. I was thrilled to read about the professional communication program and even more so when my application was accepted. I felt like the luckiest person on earth because I had found a university that allowed me to pursue a distance learning degree while continuing to live and work where I wanted to.

A highlight of the program so far was the residency. During my time there, I was very fortunate to meet so many mature, experienced, professional and very nice people who value communication as much as I do. Prior to joining the program, I was a bit hesitant to get involved in distance learning, but the residency component made all the difference. It allowed me to meet other learners face-to-face and to keep my ties with Canada.
 
While in the program I did a lot of research on communication and media. For most of my assignments, I chose topics that were beneficial for my work, or that were of personal interest to me. This has made the research process much more exciting.

I appreciate the RRU staff`s very positive attitude, care, professionalism, and openness to suggestions and change. They have also done their best to keep us informed of scholarships to apply to, conferences taking place, etc.

I specifically remember one quote I read in the introductory communication class that says: `Be aware of your thoughts because they influence your actions... be aware of your actions because they influence your patterns.... and be aware of your patterns because they define who you are.` I think that this is a powerful quote in communication because it reinforces the importance of having positive thoughts and faith since they affect the way we communicate and live.

I can only encourage anyone reading this to keep this in mind and to remember that everything happens for a reason in life, and always for the best! I would have never imagined myself doing working at the UN, living in Lebanon or doing a distance learning degree at Royal Roads University, but somehow it seems that all these options have made me the happiest person ever. All it takes is belief and positive thoughts!

Lubna Forzley is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Professional Communication (formerly MAAC). She was a communications specialist for United Nations Development Program in Lebanon before landing a job as a Public Affairs and Communications Manager for Coca-Cola in the Middle East. She works in Bahrain.