Former Syrian refugee scores prestigious Roméo LeBlanc scholarship

As his father prepares a traditional cup of Arabic coffee, Yasser Al Asmi proudly talks about his achievements in his parents' living room in Moncton.

Two years after arriving in Canada with his parents and three younger siblings, Yasser has mastered English and French and secured the prestigious Roméo LeBlanc scholarship to the University of Moncton, where he'll study in French as a pre-med student this fall.

The scholarship is awarded to the student with the highest grades from an anglophone high school in Atlantic Canada. The award will cover all his tuition fees at the university.  

The achievements were no surprise for Yasser and his family. His father, Ammar Al Asmi, talked about how some people were put on Earth to be doers and creators and said his son is one of those people.

"Yasser was always a good student and a high achiever," Ammar said.

Yasser said he was shocked when his name was announced as the winner of the scholarship. The award was presented to him by Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold at his graduation ceremony from Moncton High School on Monday.

'Anything can happen'

While he relives the moment, his parents beam with pride. This family has come a long way since escaping the war in Syria.

"Anything can happen," Yasser said. "No one can anticipate the future."

He never thought he would be attending a French university or win the scholarship, but he pointed to hard work and determination to explain how he did it.

Studying in French will help him perfect language skills, he said, but he wants to attend University of Moncton because it's close to home.

"When I came to Canada, I knew that doing nothing would not help me," Yasser said. "Moving from Syria all this way to Canada, we basically started from zero.

"One of the greatest motivation points was that we have to settle, we have to go, we have to kick off and if we don't do it fast, we're going to lose the years, lose our lives. Time is really precious."

Hanging on to these thoughts enabled him to study hard and reach his goals, he said.

Learning French

As for the focus on French, he said he knew he would have to learn the language eventually because it's one of Canada's two official languages.

"I felt it was part of my responsibility to learn French as a new Canadian," he said.

Helping him learn were the people of Moncton and what he calls his best friend, the internet. Through videos on YouTube and apps on his phone, Yasser tried for months to get a grasp of the French language.

When he felt comfortable enough, he turned to people in the community, who invited him to events and encouraged him to come out of his shell and speak more French.

Although he wasn't always a very social person, he said, the events brought him out of his shell and helped him immerse himself in the French language.   

As he speaks, his siblings play in an adjacent room. A brother already likes to write short stories, and his sister has  received school awards for high achievement.

Yasser is excited about what the future in Canada holds.