Last Sunday, the community hall in Masjid Al-Salaam Burnaby was alive with the sounds of children and young professionals attending the Youth Engagement Program. The event was special in the sense that it included an engaging session from PixelPaddle CEO, Meer Anwar, and his wife, UBC PhD alumna, Yumna Meer. The couple has been on the same journey that many of the attendees are on. Hence, they were able to relate to the participants personally.
Unlike most corporate sessions, where speakers drone on while standing at the front, Meer and Yumna made their way into the audience and spoke to everyone in a much more informal and relatable manner. Their approach was much more personal, filled with anecdotes about their own life journeys, mentioning the uncertainties, the lessons learned the hard way, and the defining moments that shaped their careers.
“I remember sending out job applications after graduation and all I heard was crickets. That was the moment I realized that degrees open doors, but skills and the ability to stay in the room make a difference,” Meer shared. His transparency was particularly refreshing to the youth at the event.
Yumna, with her social welfare background, offered a viewpoint that appealed to many of the younger women in the audience when she said, “There will always be people that will try and convince you to pick either family or ambition. You don’t have to, but it will take some kind of a personal rhythm to be in balance, and that means breaking stereotypes.”
Practical Outcomes That Seemed Like Life Advice
The couple organized their pointers around three relatable topics:
- “Your First Job Won’t Be Your Dream Job (And That’s Okay)”
To highlight that careers develop through experience rather than perfect beginnings, Meer shared his early career “horror stories”, including the time he went for a tech interview unaware of Java.
- “The Hidden Curriculum of Success”
Yumna explained the hidden rules she’s learned with great enthusiasm:
- Why a 10-minute coffee chat is more valuable than 100 online applications
- What volunteering at a nonprofit taught her regarding leadership far exceeded its classroom expectations
- “So That Tech Careers Might Have Heart”
The session’s most emotional part captured their discussion around impact-driven work. Meer got emotional recalling PixelPaddle’s first sports application, It was powerful in that it helped a special kids to enjoy the cricket while experiencing Cricket Metaverse Stadium. It reinforced the idea that true success combines empathy and impact.
The Magic of Real Talk
As samosas/refreshments were passed around, the formal speaker-audience barrier melted away into a family-style discussion about:
- Red flags in job offers
- Navigating cultural expectations
- When to quit vs. push through
More Than Just a Seminar
As the clock neared 01 PM, the non-muslim community observed the day prayers and the informal discussion continues till evening, Meer and Yumna stayed even late to review resumes and exchange LinkedIn details.
