Persona.

Name: Lu

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Reside in: Suzhou, China

Hobbies: Play video games

Education and experience

Lu was born and raised in China. After graduating from high school in China, he came to Canada to begin his post-secondary education at UVic. Following his friends’ and parents’ suggestions, he has chosen to major in Economics. He is currently in his fourth year at UVic. However, he was not personally passionate about studying Economics. After doing some research, he also realized that he does not like the jobs he could find with an Economics major, such as policy-making at government agencies, data analyst at a firm, etc. Therefore, he would like to hone on his passion for video games and his expertise in computers and technology to obtain additional skills in programming for a job as a game designer.

Roles & Responsibilities

Because Lu’s family only provides limited financial support, he has to rely on income from part-time jobs to support his living in Canada. Before the pandemic, he worked at a convenience store in his spare time. He also needs to frequently communicate with his parents’ care home to make sure that they are being taken care of. During the pandemic, however, he had to move back to China to better take care of his parents, who gave birth to him, the only child, in their forties, and are now retired. Not only does Lu have to work a part-time job to financially support his family, but he also has to spend more time doing housework. 

Technical Skills

Lu is good with computers and technology. Because of his hobby of playing video games such as League of Legends, he often watches online tutorials on how to optimize his computer for better speed and visual quality. He also assembled his own workstation for playing games from scratch because he does not have the luxury to purchase a high-end gaming computer. He is also familiar with coding languages because he has been relying on GitHub and other resources for codes used in video game modification, such as changing the external appearances of game characters. Because he has taken mandatory courses towards his economics major in statistics, he is proficient in the application of R for data analysis. 

Subject Domain Skills & Knowledge

Lu is not proficient in English and finds it difficult to communicate with the locals. Moreover, he often has a hard time understanding lectures and has to spend more time learning during his spare time. However, he is good with mathematics and statistics because these courses do not rely heavily on his command of English. 

Motivation & Desires

Lu wishes to secure a job in Canada after finishing his undergraduate studies at UVic and earn permanent resident status through that. He also hopes he can afford his parents financially for them to move to Canada and retire. However, he feels strongly that he should find a job where his passion for video gaming and his technical skills in computers and technology align. Seeing that some of his peers with a mediocre GPA in Economics end up with a job as a Uber Eats driver, salespeople at Holt Renfrew, or cashier at local bubble tea stores, he hopes to secure a more high-profile and high-paying professional job, which can also help with increasing his CRS score for immigration. 

Goals & Expectations

Lu’s current goal is to graduate with a reasonable academic score. He also wishes to gain enough professional skills in programming for him to secure a job in game design and coding as soon as he graduates. It is impossible for him to change his major at this point since he is graduating soon. Therefore, he would like to find alternative ways of obtaining certifications for his programming skills and use those certificates for finding a job. At the same time, he wishes to improve his English skills without having to take additional ESL courses at UVic, which will eat into his credits and make it difficult for him to graduate in time without having to overload every semester.

Obstacles to Their Success

1. Lu is not passionate about his major at UVic and has a mediocre GPA, which can make it difficult for him to secure a professional job in this pandemic world where the job market is growingly more competitive.
2. His parents need constant care and attention for their old age, making it difficult for him to return to Canada in the short term. 
3. He has difficulty finding a high-paying job that also aligns with his passion after graduation to financially support his family, since both his parents have retired.
4. His English skills create many obstacles in his studies and living.
5. Being in China during the pandemic, Lu has difficulty taking synchronous courses that sometimes happen at midnight because he has to rest well for his day-time job.

Unique Assets

Lu is extremely hardworking, energetic, and motivated to succeed. Therefore, he has no problem maximizing his time by working in the day and studying in the evening and on weekends. He is also good with time management, which has allowed him to balance work, study, and play.