Newton based Notary Public finds harmony in music, faith, service and her chosen profession
Shahnaz Rahimtula was commissioned as a Notary Public for the Province of B.C. in 1991 and has served her community for over 29 years. She is a pioneer who has inspired and led the way towards a profession that not many women would have set foot in at the time when she opened her practice.
There has been a notable change of scenarios now, where women have outnumbered men in this profession. As of today more than 57% of Notaries in British Columbia are women.
With a mission to constantly evolve and stimulate her life experiences to enhance her chosen profession, Shahnaz enabled herself through learning and education. She personally feels that anything embarked on with passion with your heart and soul is always a good way of experiencing life.
As a child, she has consistently demonstrated strong leadership capabilities back in India where she scored the third largest marks in the entire college and again, comfortably placed on the dean’s list at Capilano College where she completed a two-year financial management course taking eight courses each semester. Later on, Shahnaz fulfilled her dream to be an accountant and graduated as a Certified General Accountant in B.C. in 1986.
Shahnaz completely credits the Pal line, the wonderful staff at The Society of Notaries and the supporting people around her who she meets through her business as they have been a great inspiration driving her on the path to success. Shahnaz Rahimtula is passionate about her work and particularly chose this profession because it gives her an opportunity to put a smile on her client’s face.
She has greatly contributed to the community by participating as a member of the Surrey Board of Trade as well as volunteering on the audit committee and The Information and Privacy Committee with The Society of Notaries Public of B.C. She has been on the board of PICS where she was involved in the regional concerns of immigrants humbly making a difference in the Surrey Community with fundraising for battered women, senior homes and other causes to aid the less unfortunate. In addition to all this, she takes great pride in being a charter member of the Fraserview Rotary Club of Vancouver.
Shahnaz also has another passionate path where she strives to maintain her daily practice of playing her much loved musical instrument, Sitar.
Shahnaz believes there is music on earth, in the cosmos and in fact that every living thing or creation in the universe is made up of rhythmic beauty (musical beats) and it exists in everything that you see, feel and hear! Shahnaz feels that learning Indian Classical Music has been a life-changing experience where it has enhanced her vision to explore life’s experiences with grace, patience and with a meditative approach. Shahnaz experiences a feeling of passionate madness when she strums her instrument and reminded of a quote by Robin Williams, “You’re only given one little spark of madness, you mustn’t lose it.”
Being a business professional, keeping up with family commitments, daily musical practice and a busy Notary practice has been one of her biggest challenges but her boundless faith in the divine and strong values such as compassion and integrity have helped her to maintain a balanced life while leaving a sparkle of her smile and help to those around her. Shahnaz has been inspired by music, poetry and art. One of her favourite of William Shakespeare’s work is, “Have more than you show and speak less than you know.”
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