A lot has changed in the past couple of months. One minute you’re grinning at your acceptance letter. You blink, and suddenly you’re panicking two weeks before moving in because you couldn’t find an affordable mini- fridge. The next moment, you’re 300 kilometres away from home. It’s exciting, but overwhelming to say the least. Now make those 300 kilometres into 3000. Drop yourself into an entirely new culture, maybe even a whole new language. That’s what it’s like to be an international student.
I had the pleasure to speak to Ibrahim, my friend who came to Western from Qatar. He is currently studying BMOS and plans to apply to the HBA program for his third year.
From Ibrahim’s perspective, travelling to the west to get a degree from a well-known university has always been somewhat of a priority, or even an expectation. I found this quite interesting as it displays the glamorization of the west in other countries, which I’ve also seen first-hand as an Indian Canadian student. Subsequently, working in the west has always been an aspiration of his, and he mentioned that a degree from Western would be the first step in letting him follow that path.
However, studying out of his home country undoubtedly comes with a certain pressure. There’s an extra level of importance placed on being a good student, mainly due to the hefty fees. International students pay a substantially higher fee than the average student to study in Canada, which, from Ibrahim’s perspective, means he feels he must work twice as hard to not let his family’s investment go to waste. He mused that international students have a lot more on the line, but also a lot more to gain at the same time.
Given that he plans on applying to Ivey, I asked him what about the business school appealed to him in particular.
Ivey’s ability into nurturing individuals to become well-rounded, hardworking, and dynamic people rather than producing a batch of cookie cutter graduates was something that drew Ibrahim’s attention. He stated that Ivey’s priority on balance positions graduates for a brighter future in the real world and drops students in the market with the tangible skills that make all the difference. He deeply admires the case-based education method, rather than an undergrad composed of, “just studying and studying and studying, leading to learning nothing but theoretical knowledge.”
Naturally, there is a massive shift in lifestyle coming from a different country, so I was interested to hear about the adjustment from life in Qatar to life in Canada.
Since moving to Western, Ibrahim was quick to make note of the diversity and open-mindedness he's experienced first-hand. Each of us come from different backgrounds, and everyone wants to develop their niche. He's meet so many people with different experiences and ideas, and I was thrilled to hear of his encounters with others being very open minded, caring, and helpful. He saw it as sort of “take care of our own” mindset that applies to everyone, and he said that the people around him have been so great about helping him adjust. He joked that it seemed to be a Canadian personality trait to be helpful. As a second-generation Indo-Canadian living in Toronto, my culture is so integrated into the diversity of my city that I don't often feel a cultural disconnect. For new international students, that disconnect is still bound to be quite real, so hearing that others can begin to feel the integration that I do is beyond hopeful.
Speaking with Ibrahim about his experience was quite insightful. We all have friends and classmates that come from all around the world, but it’s uncommon to take the time to think about how unique each person's experience truly is. We’re all simply collections of unique experiences. Every choice that we make, up until the moment that we meet each other is a result of the ridiculous risks we've taken and the valuable rewards we've reaped. What brings us together is how we share that value with each other.
As one final note, Ibrahim made clear on a point all of us can agree upon -- the media was not lying about the brutality of the Canadian winter.