User:Zeny Ferry

Gilmore College International, first privately owned college founded by a Filipino-Canadian teacher living in Montreal, Quebec, since November 20, 1965, Zenaida Ferry Kharroubi, who taught in the public school system under the Montreal Catholic School Commission for 25 years. In August 1989, she incorporated Ne-Ri-Fe Enterprises that operated this private college under its first name of Gilmore Business Institute in English and Institut des études commerciales in French. In 2001, it was renamed Gilmore College International in English and Collège Gilmore International in French.

Gilmore obtained its first education permit and authorized by the Ministry of Education of Quebec to offer self-improvement courses (formation d'appoint). In October 1996, it was given a college permit to offer professional courses in office automation and international trade. Upon completion of the programs, students were given A.E.C. (attestation d'études collégiales) in Bureautique et Comptabilité, techniques bureautiques, commerce international. It was also accredited by the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT), a national organization based in Ottawa, that allowed the college to use the same standard textbooks for global entrepreneurship courses. The college permit was renewed two times until 2001 when it was not renewed due to some bureaucratic procedures. However, the college still continued to operate without any assistance from the government. It has survived over the years by the tuition fees that students pay for their courses in English, French, Spanish as a second language as well as business courses like International Trade, Accounting, Computer Education, and seminars in leadership training. In 2005, it began to offer nursing aide or PAB/PSW courses to prepare students to work in nursing homes and hospitals. The college has always been staffed by free lance teachers who have excellent academic qualifications with considerable experience in their professional fields.

In 2006, an application to offer integration courses in nursing for foreign graduates was submitted to the Ministry of Education of Quebec. The application has been referred to the Order of Nurses for coherence and recommendation, however, the difficulty of renting nursing lab facilities has delayed the processing of this application. Nevertheless, the college has always been able to attract students not only from the Filipino community in Montreal but also other countries in the world, like China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Tunisia, Greece, Romania, and lately, Cambodia. Most of the students take English and French as a second language.

Gilmore College International (formerly known as Gilmore Business Institute) opened its doors to the public on November 1, 1989. It will celebrate its 25th anniversary on November 1, 2014. All alumni, and former teachers are expected to attend a gala dinner-dance party to be held in a community center near its headquarters in Cote des Neiges District in Montreal.