Sonya was born and raised in Saskatoon. Although she’s never lived anywhere else, she gained perspective on immigration through her mother’s and grandmother’s post-war stories.  She got involved with SODS as a volunteer to be of service to others, attended one of our volunteer orientation sessions, and the rest is history. Sonya leads some of our conversation circles and has discovered that learning is a two-way street. “I keep learning about the really subtle attitudes and approaches to navigating life that people who grew up in Saskatchewan take for granted, that we don’t realize are actually part of our culture, that newcomers have to figure out how to navigate when they adjust to life here. Volunteering has been important to help me stay aware of what I really consider to be important and valuable work – as compared to just trying to do what I have to do to be paid – and so it’s improved my own life.  To me, volunteering has been about focusing on those non-material, people-oriented values that make my life more worthwhile and meaningful and help people build better relationships, rather than focusing on the overly-material values that can dominate our paid-work lives.”