Meet Pedro Núñez: One of Our 30 Faces of YES
When Pedro moved to Quebec from Venezuela at just 19, he carried with him a love for creativity — and the heavy reality of starting over alone in a new country. After two years of working in fast food, burnout and uncertainty pushed him to pause and rethink his future. Though he dreamed of a career in design, navigating a new culture, two new languages, and the job market all at once made it difficult to see a clear path forward. In search of stability and a fresh start, Pedro stumbled upon YES’s services.
Through YES’s CREATE program, Pedro began rebuilding his confidence and employability. What started as a need for structure and guidance quickly became a turning point. He strengthened his CV and interview skills, learned about Quebec’s work culture, and gained hands-on industry experience. As a newcomer with no professional experience in design, the learning curve felt steep. But through specialized training, exposure to working artists, and the support of fellow participants and mentors, Pedro began to understand how the industry worked, and started to see himself as part of it.
Today, Pedro is working as a designer at Presentation Matters, specializing in motion graphics and continuing to grow his skills every day. From burnout and self-doubt to confidence and creative momentum, his journey reflects the power of community, perseverance, and the right support at the right moment.
Interview with Pedro
What brought you to YES, and what were you hoping to achieve at that time?
YES came to my life during a tumultuous time in my life. I’d been unemployed for about 4-5 months at the time, having previously quit a fast food job I worked at for 1.5 years. I quit in a rush of emotions, fueled by stress. While it was definitely the best decision, I didn’t have a plan for what to do next and found the job searching process incredibly frustrating. I had an idea of which domain I wanted to pursue (art, graphic design), but having zero experience and studies on my resume, I was ready to settle for the next retail job. That was until I found CREATE while searching the internet for graphic design training in Montreal.
Can you tell me about some of the challenges or goals you faced when you first connected with YES? Was there a particular moment or obstacle that felt especially significant?
After learning about the program, what I wanted to get out of it is a grasp of how the industry worked. I was completely lost on that regard! I was lacking the personal and interpersonal skills necessary to job hunt and to be a functioning professional, and to be honest, I didn’t even know where to start when it came to building my CV. At the same time, being an immigrant, I knew without a doubt that these logistics where different in Canada compared to my home country — I just didn’t have anyone to show me where exactly they differed.
How did YES support you in overcoming those challenges or moving forward in your career, business, or artistic journey?
The biggest help I got from YES was feeling respected and welcomed considering I was at stage zero on a bunch of things. The team didn’t assume anything and helped me improve throughout the duration of CREATE. My absolute biggest takeaway from my time at YES though is the amazing people I got to connect with! My cohort admins Molly and Amina, my fellow cohort participants, and the rest of the team at YES were a joy to meet and I learned so so so many things from them.
About the other participants specifically — connecting with other artists at this level for the first time in my life truly opened my eyes and was super fun. The amount of feedback, encouragement, advice and comradery I got from them is something that I’ll always look back fondly on, and I thank CREATE for creating that space for me that I’m sure I wouldn’t have found easily otherwise 🙂
Were there any tools, workshops, or insights from YES that made a lasting difference?
Yes! My favourite workshops were the ones where we got to meet other artists, study their portfolios, and hear their stories. It made me hopeful to know that successful artists/professionals could have vastly different origins and that some of them resembled mine.
Slightly off-topic, but we also got to participate in a mini workshop by three law students where they explained how copyright laws worked here, as well as the landlord-tenant laws. I found both extremely engaging, and the last one specifically, very useful!
Where are you now in your journey, and what achievements or milestones are you most proud of?
I currently work in Presentation Matters, the design agency that CREATE connected me to, where I mostly do filming and video editing. These are two things that I never imagined I’d enjoy until I had the opportunity to learn them! I get to exercise my creative muscles often and get to learn a lot from my coworkers!
Looking back, I’m happy with how many creative skills I’ve gained so far, and with the confidence I’ve gained in overcoming obstacles that seemed to big at the start: be it learning a new software, connecting with new people, thinking outside the box, etc.
Looking back, is there a particular moment or success that stands out as a turning point?
This might be specific, but I was extremely frightened the first day I had to go to the agency during CREATE. I felt small, unprepared and even a bit immature. Overcoming that fear — and eventually feeling like I belonged and understanding I was as capable as anybody else — was definitely an achievement.
At what stage were you in your career, business, or artistic journey when you connected with YES?
Absolute zero! I’ve always done art for my personal fulfilment, but I had no diplomas, portfolio or resume to speak of. I’d been in Canada for only 2 years when I joined CREATE, and I had spent that time working and figuring out how to make things work here…. and French, hehe :).
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