Haseeb Agency
Our Principles

Our Principles





At Haseeb Agency & Intelligentsia Academy,
we adhere to a few key principles:

​Transparency ~ understanding and clear communication from the beginning of our journey working together till the end.

  • Flexibility ~ customized training and seminars that meet your turnaround time, method and style of teaching and culture.

  • Fit ~ we are quite selective with whom we choose to work with, as we believe it is important that we create a good, positive working environment for both parties.

  • Dedication & Commitment ~ we are fully dedicated to provide your employees with elite education, and committed to ensure that they make the most of it.

  • Fun ~ participants are different, and each has his/her style. Education is never meant to be repetitive or boring. We figure out ways to incorporate a sense of humor that adds elements of positivity to learning.

  • Trust ~ we stand by our brand and work diligently to deliver top notch training. We proudly continue to work with past and current clients as we value your business and your trust in our abilities to deliver elite education.

Vision

To be known as an international transformational coaching agency, touching the lives of individuals across the world and enabling them to take educated decisions throughout their journey.

Also, we aspire to provide elite education for the public, corporate and non profit sectors all around the world.

We provide innovative training, sessions and seminars, online or offline to equip participants with lifelong learning and prepare them to make a difference in their roles.

Mission

Haseeb Agency and Intelligentsia Academy aim to provide high quality customized training that align with participants' values, interests, personality, and skills.

We empower participants by providing resources designed to foster the development of their knowledge and skills in the area(s) of their choice, and can serve them as competent professionals.

Our services are delivered either on site or online, and adapt to a different number of participants per session.

Philosophy

We believe that knowledge is power once obtained and applied. Through Haseeb Agency, we work with individuals (either one-on-one or in groups) to empower them to make educated decisions about their journey.

Through Intelligentsia Academy, we also work with individuals, groups and organizations to facilitate high quality, specialized training programs that adhere to their needs.

We thrive to create long relationships and lasting effects around the world to make our world a better place.

With the expansion of our services to cover Canadian education coaching, life coaching and financial advisor services, we aspire to provide holistic services to diverse clients throughout on their journeys.

Zina Haseeb

Founder

M. Sc. | Financial Advisor - BC Life Licensed |
Certified Life Coach | Certified Canada Education Agent |
Zina Haseeb's Story

1


Even though I come from a well known family, known for its authors, poets, and other successful individuals, there was no refuge from the journey I had to experience on my own….

How it all started…..

​
My story starts when I was in Grade 6. Even though I was born in Baghdad, Iraq, my parents left the country when I was 55 days old because my parents found it difficult to seek education or work opportunities as they did not belong to the ruling political party at that time. Growing up in a different Middle Eastern Arabic country, we were considered expatriates who had limited opportunities when it came to school choices and work options.
I remember my parents sharing amazing stories about their lives in Iraq – the neighborhoods, friends, food, culture and happy memories which I did not experience growing up. I thought I was missing what it feels like being a local / national living in your home country, and not being labeled an expatriate / foreigner who could be asked to leave at any time. A true privilege I had yet to experience. Rather, the living circumstances constrained our lives in terms of school choices, activities and social network. I always longed to go back to Iraq and get to know my relatives and enjoy being called a citizen for once. This dream vanished as the country fell into tremendous political challenges: international sanctions, Gulf War 1, 2, falling of the ruling regime leading up to civil war. I knew when I was in high school that it is difficult to go back to Iraq and build a future there, and I started dreaming about building a new future in: 1) A far away country from the Middle East (I couldn’t tolerate the politics and overall culture and environment), 2) A cold country (needed a break from the hot sun and humid August weather in the that country).
At that time I had two options: Australia or Canada. I opted for Canada. Looking at their immigration requirement I realized that I had to have a Bachelors degree and at least 1 year work experience. That was my goal and motivation to push forward. Life was tough those days as during the Gulf War we weren’t sure when we would get a knock on the door and get deported. After high school graduation things got worse and I had to work to help support the family. My days used to start at 7 am (if not earlier), as I had to start work at 8am till 3pm, then I had to rush to my evening university classes from 3-9pm (missing the first 15 minutes in commute). Since I did not have time to study, I joined a small group of students. We were meeting daily after classes, from 9-11pm to study. That worked great as I supported them with my English proficiency and at the same time that was the only opportunity for me to study. I lived this lifestyle for about 2.5 years of my Bachelors education, graduating with Honours in 1999. Now that I have the education requirement along with the work experience, I recall writing a letter to the High Commission of Canada in England (back then there was no Canadian immigration representation unit in my country of residence) asking them to help me, a single, Computer Science graduate with at least 1 year work experience who wanted to call Canada home. I was over the moon when I received an application package by mail within a week. So the journey begins…..

2


I thought that by fulfilling the education and work experience requirements I could easily get a job, own my first property and sponsor my parents. I scored a higher number than my parents in the skilled immigrants’ category back then, so the plan was to immigrate on my own, settle down and bring my parents over. So I thought….
Oooooops!!!
Landing in 2001, I didn’t realize what I got myself into… a single young woman who immigrated on her own and couldn’t find a job in the IT field. Jobs were super hard to find and there was (and still is unfortunately) a disconnection between skilled immigrants and Canadian employ-ability. More like a chicken or an egg dilemma: how can I provide you with Canadian work experience if I just landed and no one is hiring me? Besides, I promise you that computers in the Middle East operate using the same binary computer language, but no one believed me.
A rough few years went by where I felt trapped as I couldn’t secure a decent paying job to be able to sponsor my parents and was running in circles. I did know one thing: I had to take action and do something because I did not come all this way, having worked so hard to improve my education and skills to end up sitting at home or even worse, not achieving my goal. The thought of reaching out to income assistance was out of the question as I had plans to sponsor my parents, so in my mind, I needed to prove to Immigration Canada that I am financially fit. I recall those times: I went through a lot of thinking and self reflection. I had to keep reminding myself daily that my biggest dream ever was immigrating to Canada, which I have accomplished. So if a young, single Middle Eastern woman who had no means or idea of how to reach that goal managed to achieve it, then why am I “failing” now??? This had me thinking about what my passions are. After serious thought I realized that my sadness crept in because I was not doing what I like. It felt like my inner flame went out and I had to revive it. On My Own. Simply because there is no one around who understood where I came from, what I want to achieve and where I want to achieve. Digging deeper I realized that despite the rough times in my country of residence, I really loved academic education. Then I realized that obtaining a Masters degree is a true passion that would not only cheer me up, but perhaps it could help me secure a worthy IT job to allow me to pursue my dream of bringing my parents.
So the search for an academic Canadian program begins…. I thought that with my honours degree any university would accept me. Hehehehehe……


The Search…


I believe it took me about a year of applying to different universities in Ontario where I first resided, to realize the need to broaden my search scope. My challenge at that time was that despite I had my degree with merit honours, it was at least 7 years old while education agents I connected with were looking for “young” students, fresh out of high school. I still remember one incident at a university fair I attended. I did not sleep that night, so eager and excited for the fair.
I prepared my certificate and documentation copies ahead of time, ready to talk to different university representatives.
One of them was a senior lady. She didn’t even look at my certificate and brushed me away saying “you are too old!!!”.

3


My heart sank….. like seriously? And who is talking here? But I chose to remain calm and respectful of her age and simply left heartbroken. Her comment really hit me hard. After a few weeks of recovery, I bounced back up with a different strategy: why am I limiting myself to Ontario? There has to be a university out there that appreciates my skills and academic achievement. 

The Breakthrough…


I think it took me less than another year to not only secure an acceptance letter, but I was also offered a full scholarship. Doing it alone, and after listening to many people and going through lots of trials and errors, I realized that applying to graduate school is different than applying to undergraduate school. Not only that, but there are significant differences between the education systems in North America and other parts of the world.My academic journey was an amazing chapter in my life which opened my eyes and literally changed my life. Even though I obtained my M.Sc. in Computer Science, my research focused on computer science and psychology –mainly human motivation, where I investigated participation incentives in online communities for women in science and engineering. I came out of this experience with an exemplary Masters defense, one thesis and three international publications. It made me realize that I do not have to spend my life programming behind a computer. I can actually help a lot of people in other ways and I love helping people. I dream of leaving a positive legacy behind me where I am remembered for helping millions on their educational journeys, whether through academic programs, packages on finding the right program to study, building schools in needing communities,…etc.
After defending my thesis I believed I can actually help so many people and influence others by sharing my experience, skills and knowledge of having lived in many provinces, applied on my own to different universities until I secured an amazing program from a prestigious university working with amazing researchers and doing all this on a full scholarship. I truly believe that there are many genius minds out there that are desperately looking for the right educational opportunity to live their dreams and give back to the world. My mission in life is to reach out to those potential students and be part of their educational journey in continuing their education in my beloved country, Canada. This is my true passion where I find myself to be the most suitable person to share my knowledge and expertise to potential students from all over the world, especially that I’ve been through this road, on my own, so I understand the Canadian education system and can support potential students with additional knowledge of the different lifestyles having lived in many provinces myself.

Post 2020 Update


As everyone else, 2020 (and beyond) was an opportunity to reflect, learn and decide what to focus on moving forward. Being of service has always been intrinsically rewarding. Starting 2021, I've expanded the services offered through Haseeb Agency to cover Canadian education coaching, life coaching and financial advisor services, in order to provide holistic services to diverse clients throughout their journey. With a new website in 2022, I'm even more excited to future learning, successful opportunities and business growth.

4


I hope my story gives you the encouragement you need to keep on going, perhaps it is what you needed to hear (read) at this moment to realize that you are not alone, and that despite all the falls and rises throughout this journey called life, there is always a rise after a fall.
This is me, Zina Haseeb, a certified Canada Education Agent (CCG 00540), certified Life Coach (#D2DI18W5) and Financial Advisor - BC Life Licensed. I am here to empower individuals to make educated decisions about their journey through Haseeb Agency, named in honour of the man who influenced who I am today ... my beloved father whom we've lost in 2013.
Thank you for reading. If you feel that my story resonated with you, and we could potentially work together, please reach out to me.
I believe in you and wish you all the best on your journey...
CONTACT US