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SONIA

Name: Sonia | Age: 55 | Employer: Toronto Police Service

Sonia didn’t always know she wanted to be a police officer. She was attending university with the aim of becoming a teacher when she saw an ad for the Toronto Police Service on the subway. The ad made her think about the neighborhood she grew up in and its lack of black female officers. She wondered if she could serve the community differently. 32 ½ years later, Sonia has served countless members of the public across multiple divisions in Toronto. She has also dedicated her time to the Toronto Police College, helping to train recruits and bring them onto the force.

“Anybody that knows me will tell you I’m a people person, not a process person. For me, it’s all about the people. That’s what I liked most about my job, interacting with people and helping them with their problems.”

After helping the people of Toronto for over three decades, Sonia will retire this December. “I loved my job. I loved what I did. I loved the community I served and the people I worked with. But sometimes you know when it’s time to move on,” she explained.

But moving on doesn’t mean moving away from serving her community. Sonia will be taking a conflict resolution course at York University, followed by an internship. After that, she’ll be able to work as a mediator on a self-employed basis. She feels that the last 30+ years have prepared her for this next step, and she’s excited to carry her passion for helping people forward into this new career.

On top of her new line of work, Sonia will be moving from her house to a condo, spending more time with friends and family, travelling, and focusing on her personal fitness. “I said to a lot of people that I didn’t know what I was going to do when I retired. I thought I’d be bored. But I think I’m busier now that I was before,” she said. Despite being so busy, Sonia is striving to achieve a healthy work-life balance in retirement, “It’s really about enjoying life at this point. I think with working hard and with OMERS, there’s the ability to do that.”