Empowered to Dream
Wing Tse is a big fan of Centennial College, and for good reason: he credits the school with helping him find confidence in himself – and his future – for the first time in his life.
Today, it’s hard to tell there was ever a time Tse didn’t have dreams and the drive to pursue them. At just 20 years old, Tse is a graduate of Centennial’s Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program, a current psychology student at the University of Guelph, a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada and an active community volunteer, he’s right on track to achieve his goal of becoming a firefighter with Toronto Fire Service and moving up the ranks.
But it wasn’t long ago that his world fell apart.
When Tse was 14, he suddenly found himself homeless when his father’s gambling and alcohol addictions caught up to him. Tse’s mother, who struggles with mental health challenges, had left the family five years earlier; he hadn’t seen her since he was eight years old.
Without any relatives to turn to for help, Tse moved in with his best friend’s family – a family he now calls his own.
“I don’t think my story is a sad one because of them,” he says now. “They’ve been amazing and instilled the drive and fearlessness that I carry with me in life. They’re Irish, and I now like to say I’m half-Irish!”
As he approached the end of high school, Tse knew he wanted to build a career out of giving back.
“So much support had been provided to me by my new family and the community that I knew I had to give back in some way,” he says. “I realized firefighting would be a perfect career for me; it combines my desire to help people with my love of physical activity and teamwork.”
When Tse enrolled at Centennial, he had no idea his time at the school would change his life – in more ways than one.
“Centennial gave me a circle of people who cared about me, who saw something great in me, who helped me understand what I’m capable of,” he says. “And they showed me what it really means to give back, to contribute to the well-being of others.”
Taken under the wing of Captain Michael Wood, his program’s coordinator and a long-time member of Toronto Fire Service, Tse was encouraged to find opportunities to volunteer his time in addition to focusing on his academic work. He started by organizing toy drives for kids in need and his passion for community service grew from there.
“I can’t even remember how many toy drives I organized!” he says. “From there, I started organizing other initiatives like collecting money to donate to the college or for causes like muscular dystrophy. Centennial always had opportunities available to get involved.”
Soon, Tse found himself spearheading the launch of Centennial’s very first FireFit team to participate in the FireFit Championships – a competition based on tasks typically found in emergency firefighting situations.
“That was probably the highlight of my experience at Centennial,” he says. “It was a lot of work, but I got to connect with so many people at FireFit, at Centennial and in the community to organize the team, secure sponsorships and participate in the competition. Not a lot of people in my past had encouraged me, and taking on FireFit helped me realize my own potential.”
Captain Wood says that Tse’s enthusiasm for FireFit was infectious – and reflects his incredible commitment to growing and giving back.
“Wing’s enthusiasm for the project got other students involved, got instructors to donate their time and even inspired people from other FireFit teams to take our team under their wing and offer suggestions and coaching,” says Wood. “Wing has this incredible drive to be the best person he can be in order to do good for others, and that influences those around him to strive for more as well.”
Centennial also helped Tse find his passion for mental health. The only student from the pre-service firefighting program to enroll in the college’s mental health first aid training course, Tse says the experience gave him the realization that his mother’s decision to leave the family when he was a child was driven by her mental illness.
“I grew up with so much resentment, but I’m now trying to look at that experience as something that was outside of her control,” he says. “And I’m working on reaching out to her.”
Empowered by his newfound interest in mental health, Tse chose to pursue an undergraduate degree in psychology to set himself up for a future of leadership within Toronto Fire Service and to ensure he’ll be able to create direct impact for community members experiencing mental health challenges.
He’s also doing what he can to support community-based mental health services. Together with a friend, Tse recently launched [s]mileage – an online clothing company with a goal to donate $5,000 from proceeds to Stella’s Place, a Toronto non-profit providing mental health support for youth.
As he looks ahead to a bright future, Tse remains deeply grateful for his experiences at Centennial.
“I want to thank Centennial for all of the endless and amazing opportunities they provided, and for going above and beyond every step of the way,” he says. “Centennial was the community I needed to realize who I am and what I can do, and really propelled me to do what I’m doing now.”