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My name is Mangalam Lena. I am from Sri Lanka. As a Franciscan missionary, I came to Canada and joined the sisters, and through them I was introduced to Saint Paul University.

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Between 1991 and 1996, I completed my BA in Theology and Masters in Pastoral Studies, which is a chaplaincy program. Then I took a break from studies and started my own pilot project called Home Based Spiritual Care.

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Then I came back to Saint Paul and completed the Doctrine Ministry degree in Forgiveness and Conflict studies. One of the most valuable things that I learned from Saint Paul was building communities inside and outside, regardless of age,

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colour and creed. My most memorable experiences at Saint Paul were organizing fundraising activities to help countries affected by floods and earthquakes, earthquakes, as well as organizing Christmas

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celebrations for international students. All my programs were oriented toward people who needed help. Particularly, those who are sick,

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lonely, and those who need healing. Most of the time I enjoyed working with individuals, one-on-one and in small groups.

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What I enjoyed most was listening to their stories, in other words, sharing their humanity. Presently, I'm working with the Diaspora Sri Lankans in Toronto,

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bridging the gap between the ethnic communities, the singles and the Tamils, trying to heal their past wounds and build trust among them, eventually leading to forgiveness and reconciliation.

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My studies at Saint Paul University prepared me to to be who I am today, spiritually and intellectually serving humanity. If I have to mention, one great thing that happened to me at

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Saint Paul was while doing my thesis, my doctor in ministry program, my supervisor Vernon Redekop and the other directors introduced me to initiatives of change. In short, we call IFC

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a spiritual movement which has its purpose as personal transformation which transform my life and I have committed my life to be part of this organization.

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The word change is not new to me because this was the logo that I saw at every corner of Saint Paul while Chantelle Bowe was Rector. The mission of Saint Paul resonates very closely

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with the essence of IFC, which is personal transformation. If I have to pass on a message to Saint Paul's future students, I would advise if you want change in the world,

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start with yourself. Saint Paul has one of the best libraries in the world. All my free time was spent in the library. So much so my colleagues used to tease me. Mangalam have a bid in

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the library. I enjoyed the atmosphere in the library and benefited from the kindness and the availability of the staff. I was able to connect with my students and professors

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and benefited from their friendships. Wherever I go, I take the mission and the spirit of Saint Paul and encourage young students to apply for courses in theology,

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spirituality counseling and conflict studies. Something that I wish for Saint Paul is I would like to see more integration between different age and ethnic groups,

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community spirit and social cohesion. It is a it's a universal. It's for all people, all young, middle age and seniors and there is so much of life, there's so much of young people

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there that brings life to Saint Paul University and I would also would like to have more of seniors and middle-aged people so that there is a mixture of different age groups. But I miss connection

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and community spirit and the library.