Sudbury student gives back to the community through traditional Indian dance

Gurpreet Singh Broca has a busy schedule.

Between his classes at Cambrian College, his role on student council as director of international student affairs and running his bhangra dance club, he doesn't have much time to spare.

Singh Broca says he's always been outgoing. Growing up in India, everything was very competitive — from school to field hockey

When he finished high school, he knew that it would be difficult to get into a good university and find a job if he stayed in the country.

"Every year there's about a million people who graduate from high school...all over India, and there's not as many schools," he says.

"So there's a lot of competition [and] there's a lot of unemployment too."

That's when a few friends from high school suggested he come to Canada to continue his education, and recommended the civil engineering program at Cambrian.  

Singh Broca says he had a hard time adjusting to life in Sudbury at first, and decided he needed to get more involved in the community. He started the Sudbury Bhangra Club, as a way to share his love of the traditional Punjabi dance and give back to the city.

"People have been so supportive, [from] Sudbury and all throughout Ontario, wherever we have gone and performed," he says.

Not everyone has been so welcoming though. Singh Broca's friends have been harassed while they were out in public, and he says that he's experience hidden racism in Sudbury.

"When you are there to witness it...you feel it's kind of growing," he says.

But Singh Broca says he's committed to fighting discrimination, and helping Canadians learn about his and other cultures.   

"We want somebody to have, as Jagmeet Singh from [the] NDP says, love and courage."