'It was kind of a crazy idea': Sudbury man shares story of his journey from Nepal

Pradyumna Regmi was in his senior year of high school in Nepal, when he decided to leave that country to go to university in North America — something no one in his family had ever done before.

"In a way, it was kind of a crazy idea," he says. "Here, all of a sudden, nobody has gone outside of the country, and you are thinking far, far away, halfway around the world."

Regmi was the youngest of seven children, and wanted to do something different than his siblings. They had all finished their education in Nepal.

When Regmi was 22, he moved to the United States to study computer science.

Life in the U.S. was completely different from life in Nepal, Regmi says, and at first he had difficulty adjusting to the language and the culture. It was also hard to be so far from his family.

"To have friends is one thing, you always miss your family. And being the youngest from the family and being far away at the same time, obviously I missed them."

After he finished his degree, Regmi decided to continue living and working in the U.S. He applied for a green card.

Regmi did return to Nepal during that time to marry a family friend in an arranged marriage.

Regmi was just starting to settle down in the U.S., with his new wife, — with plans to pursue his master's degree — when his position in the company he was working at, was eliminated.

He had 60 days to make a new plan before his visa expired.

By chance, Regmi had gotten back in touch with an old friend just a few months before. That friend encouraged him to apply for permanent residency in Canada.

On Oct. 9, 2001, Regmi and his wife Sweta arrived in Canada as permanent residents.

"Maybe it was meant to be," he says.