Solange Urushima

Solange was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil to Japanese parents. Fun fact… Brazil has the highest Japanese community in the world outside of Japan. Her great grandfather was a Samurai and moved to Brazil after a shift in culture. Most became farmers as Brazil offered land to newcomers.
Her grandfather quickly moved from farming to found the first electronic company in Brazil. Solange spent quite a bit of time with her grandmother as her mother and father both worked full time (mom worked part-time). Solange attended a German private school because of the similarity in the expectation of excellence from both the Japanese and German cultures. She began studying English at 12 years old. (That’s 4 languages then: Japanese, Portuguese, German, and English. She has also picked up French!)
Solange went to University and studied Social Communication with an emphasis on publicity, marketing and administration. Her favorite areas of study were psychology, sociology, marketing and photography. Solange plays electric bass and sings. She was a member of rock bands, and used music as a vehicle to teach positive values to poorer children in Sao Paulo as a volunteer. She helped create an award-winning musical film. She created the sound track and the soundtrack won first place from the largest Christian Association in Brazil.
Solange studied for a year in Sweden and met her husband in Canada while visiting the country. She studied in Vancouver before moving to Calgary as her husband was born and raised here. Solange has lived in Canada for 6 years and has worked with non-profits before coming to St. Andrew’s.
Being raised in a family with a Buddhist father and a Christian mother, Solange’s real passion is connecting with people. From the time she was 4 years old, her teachers commented on how Solange is a natural peace keeper and always finds ways to include others. Solange’s goal is to keep the church prospering and for communication to flow well. Working 20 hours each week works well for Solange. As Administrative Assistant, Solange is the person who
will answer office emails, book rooms, manage calendars for the clergy, and numerous other duties, sharing the office management with our most capable Dolly Forcade.