Current city: Montreal, Quebec

Year arrived in Canada: 2019

School(s): McGill University

Academic program(s): Civil Engineering

1. From your experience transitioning to Canadian life and culture, do you have any advice for new WUSC students?

Yes.

- at first, things seem unfamiliar but with time, one can adapt. There is just a lot to comprehend especially in the first year. You need to keep calm and try to figure out how the system works.

2. Do you have any advice on choosing academic programs and careers for later success after school?

Yeah. It depends on your interest and how best you are determined to go for it. For me, just as a case study, I was enrolled in a different program which wasn’t what I wanted. I had to finish my first year before I was able to apply and got into my desired career program. Just put effort and boom, you will see success. In short, it is possible.

3. How can new students cope with loneliness and feeling out of place when they first arrive in Canada?

• Trust me, it struck me during my first year- loneliness, yeah, I had friends whom I stayed with, but at one point you gonna have flashback of wonderful times with your family. It hurts, init?

• So, the best thing is to stay in touch with friends, try to communicate with family - siblings.

• Accept the change, all will be okay in the end.

4. From your experience, what does it take to succeed in Canada? (Measuring success in academic and professional terms).  

Woow! I won’t lie. Everyone is different. We succeed in different fields. Though our goal is to achieve something and make a change- where our similarity come in - we are bonded by great work! The best way is to be determined, focused and work hard to achieve your goals.

5. What challenges do you think hinder new students from succeeding in Canada?

Not yet at my best though.

Yeah on my count, I would say, there is a lot to go for in Canada. We come solely for studies. Not music, arts and sports. We are overwhelmed when one realizes that he/she might be good at one of those. This takes away our focus, we try to fit in music, sports - but we were not exposed to before. It becomes hard to catch up at school when we are involved with so many things.

6. Seeing how credit scores are important in Canada, do you have any advice on managing money or building up a credit profile?

Ops!  yeah sure. At times families and friends need help and support, but that is the reason we come here. study and learn, become innovative and make a change for us and the society at large. There is a need to be vigilant on who to assist financially while in school.

You can give when something is worth your money.

7.  Do you have any ideas on how new students can manage expectations from friends and family back home?­­

Hehe! Don’t get me wrong on this?...

I would say I received calls when I got my phone- messenger.

I was happy for friends and family members who were happy that I arrived safely- so sweet, right?

On the other hand, things evolved. Unnecessary calls and texts. Not that they are bad or maybe unofficial! I mean, others would just call as frequent as they wanted. I prefer it when my Mom calls!

8. If you can reflect on your personal journey, were your aspirations met? What would you do differently if you were to start over again in Canada?

Yeah, I am happy for my friends who helped me out. I was new and was everything?

I am working on my routines and checking out as much as possible some of my ultimate goals and expectations. At times, I have learned that it takes only yourself to make change!

Start over? Haha… I won’t go for that. It is nice to start over when things aren’t on your side?  I am happy that it is not the case for me.