Breathing in the crisp Toronto air is a feeling I’ve grown accustomed to as I go to work every morning. As time passes slowly and surely, this place starts to feel like home. It’s almost hard to believe that only a few years ago the place I considered home is now halfway across the globe.
One of the most special experiences of attending university is the variety of people you can meet from different backgrounds and cultures. In Ivey’s HBA program, around 30% of the total class size will consist of international students. Applying to school internationally can be particularly nerve-wracking, so hopefully applicants can find comfort in the fact that almost a third of your peers will be in the same boat -- but I can understand your scepticism. Instead of writing about what I think the international experience is like, let us go back into the mind of someone who’s been through it – Cathy Dong.
Cathy is a recent HBA graduate currently working in Toronto and applied to Ivey after hearing about the program from her peers while completing secondary school in British Columbia. When looking back at her first two years in BMOS, Cathy describes it as more of the average university experience she expected. Much of her time was spent doing readings and attending long lectures to study for multiple choice exams. The large class sizes allowed Cathy to keep to herself and mainly engage with her close connections. Through taking Business 2257 in her second year, she was required to participate in class, but due to the lectures moving online during the pandemic, much of the unique collaborative environment 2257 offers were significantly watered down. Looking back, she feels as if the in-person experience of 2257 would have better prepared her for the obstacles she would come across in HBA1.
The biggest change Cathy felt upon entering Ivey was a stronger integration into her community. Through the splitting of students into sections and frequent group work, she was able to build connections more easily with her peers, something that was not as encouraged in BMOS. However, these reasons did not come without their obstacles – mainly in terms of a language barrier. Cathy’s first language is not English and despite being fluent, at times it was still difficult to communicate her ideas effectively. She made strong efforts in voicing her input in group settings but found herself being misunderstood. At the start of her Ivey career, she was ignored by her peers due to the language barrier, but the frequent communication encouraged by Ivey initiated improvement quickly. Soon she found it much easier to express her opinions in projects and in the classroom. This communicative ability fostered by her time at Ivey has immensely benefited her in the long-term, especially through her new job.
Cathy commends the work that Ivey puts into promoting inclusivity amongst its’ students to strengthen the sense of community. The HBA Association (HBAA) planned many events that were exclusive to international students, which encouraged community building amongst themselves. Nervous about the stigma and stereotypes regarding the competition in business programs she had previously heard of Cathy never found that to be the case during her time at Ivey and stressed that people were kind and always willing to help one another.
Being completely foreign in a new setting is a difficulty that can only be felt through personal experience. International students more than anyone need to build strong communities in these new places - an idea Cathy continues to reiterate. Taking advantage of the opportunities to integrate into a new surrounding will not only establish solid connections to depend on but is the best kind of practice in feeling fully confident in speaking a new language.
Finally, she encourages those interested in Ivey or pursuing education outside of home to just apply. Intimidation is an easy feeling to have when applying to an impressive program, and even more so to move across the globe to partake in that program. Nonetheless, if you don’t make that hard first step, it will only ensure a lost opportunity. So if you’re on the fence about starting that AEO application, Cathy encourages you to just do it! You might be surprised with how far you could go - literally and figuratively.