50 Grads, 50 Years

Tahirah Mirza (Social Science, 2014) is the Manager of Social Media Publishing (Global) for Ubisoft, a French video game company. She currently works from home but is based out of the Montreal Studio.

Mirza started out as an intern at the company in 2017 and worked her way up on the North American team to the point where, after five years with the company, is managing the Global Social Media Publishing team.

Mirza says she couldn’t be happier about where she is, but working in the videogame industry wasn’t always her goal from the beginning,

When she started at Champlain Saint-Lambert, Mirza was enrolled in Health Sciences and had her heart set on becoming an orthodontist.

But she quickly realized that calculus and biology were not her strongest suits. Mirza switched programs which caused some disappointment for her parents.

“The hardest hurdle was my switch from health science to social science,” she said. “But they were definitely able to adapt and accept over time.”

Mirza, still hoping to find a career path that would please her family as well as herself, considered using her Social Science DEC as a springboard to study law. She completed a Bachelor’s at Concordia University in Political Science but became increasingly aware that her aspirations were being drawn elsewhere.

During her final semester at Concordia, Mirza simultaneously enrolled in an e-commerce program at LaSalle College just a few blocks away. She earned her degree in Political Science and a Quebec Attestation of College Studies (AEC) from LaSalle all while interning at Ubisoft where she would eventually be hired full-time.

“It was a tough year but I think it was worth it,” she said. “I’m glad I put in the work that year. Now I’m super happy with where I am.”

Mirza said she was able to snag the internship by connecting with a Ubisoft recruiter on LinkedIn. Coming from a family of videogame enthusiasts and armed with her new skills in marketing, she felt well-positioned to take on the role.

Since starting at the company, Mirza has been able to rise within the social media team rapidly: “I think I got promoted almost every year that I’ve been there,” she said.

She attributes the success to the support of managers who helped her get access to trainings and continuing education opportunities.

Along with her work at Ubisoft, Mirza also lectures at LaSalle College part-time teaching classes on Video Game Industry and Production Process, Environment Design in Gaming as well as courses on Social Media.

Looking back at her experience in Cegep the first time around, Mirza said she’s grateful for the people she met during her time as a student.

First off, she met her husband at Champlain in the library. And second, she recalls teacher Connie Galatas, who she described as a passionate and inspiring teacher.

“She made me love all her classes,” said Mirza. “When I think of Champlain, I think of her because she made such a positive impact on me.”

Mirza’s advice for current students and recent grads: “What I struggled with most in my first couple of semesters was studying because I didn’t know how to study. Not everyone studies the same way. That’s something we don’t learn about in high school. I definitely encourage students to explore different study guides and techniques. That said, everyone takes school so seriously. It’s important to take a step back sometimes and enjoy the moment and make memories you’ll look back on later in life.”