by Satbir Singh
How would you react if you received a phone call from an unknown number inviting you to be on one of the biggest television shows in Canada? Chances are you would be excited, nervous, confused or you would just ignore the phone call. Or you’d feel like Victoria Woghiren who thought it was a prank call when she received an invite to be a house guest on the reality TV game show Big Brother Canada.
But it wasn’t a prank call, the call was legit and she went on to become one of the popular contestants on the show. Known for her big personality and unpredictable gameplay, the 28-year-old Woghiren was in the Big Brother house with 14 other contestants isolated from the outside world for almost six weeks. She played an excellent game by remaining likeable to the fellow houseguests and the audience.
A part of this has to do with her life growing up. Woghiren grew up in a child welfare system through foster care. She described foster care as a very tough time for her as she was separated from her family when she was young. She constantly moved from one place to another and went to different schools for her education growing up.
Courtesy: Big Brother Canada
Because of this, she felt there was a stigma attached to her, which is why she decided to work in the same child welfare system she grew up in. According to her, she loved helping children who were poor, not living with their parents and teenage girls who are often hard to work with. She describes herself as a highly energetic, good listener and a perfectionist who often relates with people and gives them good advice.
“Before I was on the show, I was really into working with youth by going into foster care. I work well with them; I feel like that’s a strength that I could offer. People who don’t have the best experiences or don’t have the same opportunities as their peers, I love helping them by providing access to things that can help them thrive in their world.”
Woghiren was also appointed to the Premier’s Council on Equality of Opportunity where she advised the premier and the minister of children, community and social services about the issues and barriers faced by vulnerable youth. She currently has 14.3K followers on Instagram. Because of that, she feels motivated to try new things and she feels she has more opportunities to do things differently than ever before.
“Since I have more followers on Instagram, I have some people who support me a little bit more. It’s good if you want to get messages across or if you need advice on something, or if you need services, it’s easier to find people.”
Woghiren is currently a full-time Master of Social Work student at McMaster University in Hamilton and she’s expecting to complete her degree this May. As a youth advocate, Woghiren wants to help youngsters who might be experiencing the same stigma that she did. Since she’ll be more qualified as an advocate after her graduation, she will be using the power of her social media presence to spread the word. According to her, it would be easier to figure out how to help people in her community while having a wide range of options.
“I’m excited, with social work degree I could do a lot of different things. I could work on a school board; I could do therapy or can work in the hospital.”
Podcast Link: Victoria Woghiren
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