Our Journey To Canada

Massimo De Menech is a proud Italian-Canadian. Massimo is the Vice President of CareerStreams Resources Inc., and a Board of Director of the Ciociaro Club of Windsor. Massimo is a community builder, volunteer, and is active in the Italian community. While reflecting on his family’s immigration story, Massimo had this to say:

"My father Fabio who is an immigrant himself, and my mother Anna who was born two months after my nonna arrived in Canada have been inspirations in my life. My father, an entrepreneur, worked hard in various organizations before founding CareerStreams Resources Inc. in 1996. He worked over 30 years in Midland, Ontario and Windsor. His entrepreneurial spirit started at 24 years of age, after completing his M.A. in Education. His dream of owning a new business came true in 1996 when he founded CareerStreams Resources Inc. in our basement (with a computer, desk, and two chairs) to assist those seeking “career change” and looking to “take the first step toward career success.” CareerStreams is now the largest private Career Counselling Company in Southwestern Ontario with a specialization in youth and New Canadians looking to “Discover their True Self.” Additionally, my mother who was born 2 months after my Nonna arrived in Canada, worked as an ECE and in retail. She dedicated her Saturday mornings teaching youth the Italian language and helping children learn about their Italian roots.

My family’s immigration story has taught me that nothing ever comes easy in life; hard work, tenacity, and dedication are the only ways to get ahead. The entrepreneurial spirit is something all immigrants to Canada possess, the drive to make positive change and to prove that you are worth it. After learning about my family’s immigration story, I find myself humbled and grateful of the struggles they had to endure, the discrimination they faced being called (dagos, and wops), and the hard work it took to provide a comfortable life for themselves and their families. I am proud to say that I am the son and grandson of immigrants who made a difficult decision to leave their homeland and sacrificed a lot in order to create a better life for themselves and their families. I have always enjoyed learning from them and their experiences. They have given everything in order for me and my 3 sisters to have a better life. This is something I will never be able to thank them enough for. To wrap up I would like to take from what my mother has always told me, “If you don’t know where you come from and learn from who came before you, you will never be able to move forward in your own life.”