Fanshawe alumni dips into the pool of success

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: MAURICIO BLANCO
Edgard Humberto Henriquez Bertrand, a Fanshawe grad, came to Canada from El Salvador and now works for Diply, a top 100 global website.

“When I tell people that I’m from El Salvador, they’re all like, ‘Wow that’s exotic!’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’s not! It’s just El Salvador’,” said Fanshawe graduate Edgard Humberto Henriquez Bertrand.

Imagine being unable to walk the streets during the day with your phone in your hand in the heart of the city, without the constant nagging fear of getting robbed or harassed. That was the life Bertrand lived back in El Salvador.

Violence in El Salvador increased in 2015. Since the end of a brutal civil war, the homicide rate skyrocketed to become the highest in the world, at an average rate of a murder every hour. The rivalry between the two most infamous gangs, MS 13 and Barrio 18, has given rise to bloodshed in the country.

The result of the rule of gangs in the country combined with a weak and corrupt government has led to passing of unfair laws like the ban on public transport. And with a huge social gap in the country, life for the underprivileged is extremely difficult.

Bertrand’s family owns a high school in El Salvador named Queens School of Business founded 30 years ago by his mother, Evelynd Bertrand. The school was created for underprivileged women who do not have enough resources and are subject to threats by gangs.

“We want to make education available to everyone, so that everyone can get a chance to make a better life for themselves irrespective of their financial status,” Bertrand said.

Bertrand migrated to Canada three years ago to get an education.

“I was really just escaping from there. It just got too overwhelming with the violence and the stress,” Bertrand said.

He studied Hotel and Tourism Management at Fanshawe College.

After graduating from Fanshawe College, Bertrand obtained his post-graduate work permit, and tried several jobs at various places. He worked at Hudson’s Bay for several months as a sales associate in the women’s shoes division. It was his first time working abroad.

“Now I know what wedges are, what kind of boots girls like, I know Fergie is a brand that is short for Fergalicious… I have the utmost respect for everyone who works at retail now,” said Bertrand.

Bertrand was unemployed for few months after the Hudson’s Bay job. He was stressed and considering moving back to El Salvador, but it was his parents who encouraged him to stay.

“My parents have always been extremely supportive of me. They said, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do. Just do something. And that something will eventually lead you to something else.’ It is something I didn’t realise on my own at first. But then I thought it made sense. With experience comes knowledge,” Bertrand said.

Taking inspiration from that, he applied for a building management job in London. He worked there for a few months until he got a call from an old roommate regarding a job vacancy at Diply, a top 100 global website.

“He called me out of the blue and asked if I would be interested in working there since they are looking for someone who can write in Spanish and English…It was so surprising,” Bertrand said.

He applied at Diply since he enjoys writing. He has a blog called ‘El Salvador es nuestro’ which means ‘El Salvador is ours’ which he uses to write about political issues in El Salvador.

Even an appendectomy was not enough to prevent him from getting the job. Bertrand was in the hospital when he got a call for an interview from Diply, adding that they were understanding of his situation. They rescheduled his interview at a later date which eventually led to him landing a job as a writer at the company.

Bertrand has been working at Diply for four months. He said he loves the creative and positive ambience at the company. “If I can go back in time, and tell myself that you are going to be a writer in 10 years, I would never believe it,” Bertrand said.

“It was because of El Salvador that I started writing. I came here fleeing from all the violence and stress. But after I spent some time here, I feel like, why am I so privileged to live like this. Sometimes I find it hard to enjoy my life here when I read news about El Salvador,” said Bertrand

Bertrand writes about viral content for Diply. The content is typically light-hearted and humorous, but he writes informative articles about serious issues as well. Recently, Bertrand wrote an article about child slavery.

“My goal with writing on these topics is to bring this kind of hardto- digest information to young audiences because the young generation today are not sensitive enough. So, I tend to make it more feeling yet informative to connect with them,” said Bertrand.

Perhaps an individual cannot change the world. But everyone can do their part to make a difference.