Fleming College

Dharav Pandya’s ideal day on campus is arriving for his 8 a.m. lecture, treating himself to a delicious lunch made by Fleming Culinary students, and spending quality time with friends around the fireplace in the cafeteria.

Outside of Fleming’s Sutherland Campus, the international student enjoys paddle-boarding in Little Lake, cycling through the Trans-Canada Trail, and strolling through Millennium Park, among other outdoor activities.

“Peterborough is a beautiful city in all seasons,” said Dharav. “I had so much fun staying in Peterborough.”

Dharav moved to Canada for Fleming’s Health Information Management (HIM) program, after earning his degree in Biomedical Engineering and working as an associate in medical records review and abstraction. He wanted to study health records and chose Fleming’s HIM program because it covers a wide range of subjects, features work placements, prepares students for the National Certification Examination, and is recognized by the Canadian Health Information Management Association.

“My experience at Fleming College was incredible. The quality of my program is excellent,” said Dharav. “Most of our faculty are working professionals who provide us with real world scenarios and a tried-and-tested current way of working, which has given me a good reference for when I will start working in this profession.”

Dharav enjoyed studying at the Sutherland Campus, describing it as easy to navigate with facilities that make the student learning experience very comfortable, including: water refill stations, silent study areas and group study rooms, a learning centre equipped with computers, a Library and Bookstore, comfortable seating throughout the campus with charging outlets, and more. There are also lots of fun activities and events organized by the Student Administrative Council, which Dharav enjoyed participating in.

But his favourite experience at Fleming was during his third-semester, when he found himself feeling homesick, stressed and sick.

“It was a little too much for me to handle. I was stressed,” Dharav shared. “I am so grateful that I had services available to me right here on the campus. I consulted the Health Services and attended the Campus Health Workshop Series conducted by Counselling Services. At the end, my performance in that semester turned out to be the best one amongst all four semesters. This was remarkable!”

He added, “To have the College support me through different services, and using that support to be able to fight back and win is a great feeling. This experience is very motivating for me and probably the best memory I have!”

Dharav is now graduating as Valedictorian for the School of Health and Wellness. He said he feels honoured to be chosen and is proud to be the first person in his family to serve as Valedictorian.

In his Valedictorian speech, Dharav will stress the importance of education and how knowledge empowers us to do good things in the world and make a positive impact.

“I want to remind us that, through education, we get an opportunity to serve as well, and we shouldn’t miss out on that! Even at our jobs where we get paid, if we work with the intentions of serving the community, or merely helping people around us, that will make our next phase of life rewarding and sweet,” said Dharav.

After graduation, Dharav plans to take the National Certification Examination of the Canadian College of Health Information Management. He would like to work in a healthcare setting and eventually work in clinical documentation, data quality and data analysis.