Setting your foot on a new planet, trying to build new grounds, working hard to communicate your creativity, and find your place in a world where everyone around is walking on earth and you are still floating on the moon!
That was my first year as a graduate international student at the University of Toronto. Getting involved with the endless opportunities offered by U of T to help students like me integrate was very helpful, to the extent that I became the President of International Students' Association after a few months of joining school.
Mentoring newcomer international students became a passion that drove me into knowing more and more about different facilities and enrichments that could scaffold my mentees into reaching their full potential.
A few months before COVID-19 lockdown started, I was obsessed with accessibility solutions for students and environmentally friendly conferences. As an elected member at the research standing committee, I suggested that our conferences provide a low carbon emission virtual option, which was welcomed by most of the committee, and encouraged to put into action by our proactive director of the education commons.
The next step was to reach out for the chairs of the Graduate Students' Research Conference 2020 which was supposed to be held during the first week of April. They were supportive and things were going viral! my idea was becoming real and I was so excited to lead the implementation and watch students benefit from this initiative until the lockdown was enforced and the conference was canceled! I had high hopes that the conference could be held virtually, but I had to settle for the loss of a great opportunity for our school as a whole and for me as a hard-working international student for reasons out of my hands.
That was the opportunity that I thought would give me some credibility to step up and find my way as a job seeker when I graduate! That hope was shattered due to the lockdown! my efforts were forgotten and I can't deny the amount of disappointment I feel being an active member of my school, whose only way to survive my hardship was by getting involved and helping fellow students. I know I am not alone in this, there are so many amazing students filled with potential who lost their opportunities because of the lockdown, and it breaks my heart.
This situation made me more concerned about the status of post-secondary international students who are still enrolled and who are expected to graduate soon, how will they get fair opportunities to find jobs, especially without having the ability to get involved at their schools and build real networks? Is it possible to build those networks virtually? how is that possible? Attending conference video calls might be considered an alternative, but does that mean we are compromising in-person interactions?
It is known that the pandemic has caused everyone a great deal, but thinking about international students as a vulnerable group of people who are getting more vulnerable makes me wonder, when will they get the attention they deserve?
This group is different as they arrived in Canada as independent individuals, paying massive amounts of tuition fees, aiming to invest in their knowledge and become beneficial to their new communities. All that they need is a fair opportunity to thrive! I believe this is the time where international students are given the chance to get involved, this could only happen through considering more flexible policies in taking them in and accepting to hire them without challenging conditions. I suggest that their schools should liaison with potential institutes, and advocate for its hardworking international students.
That was my first year as a graduate international student at the University of Toronto. Getting involved with the endless opportunities offered by U of T to help students like me integrate was very helpful, to the extent that I became the President of International Students' Association after a few months of joining school.
Mentoring newcomer international students became a passion that drove me into knowing more and more about different facilities and enrichments that could scaffold my mentees into reaching their full potential.
A few months before COVID-19 lockdown started, I was obsessed with accessibility solutions for students and environmentally friendly conferences. As an elected member at the research standing committee, I suggested that our conferences provide a low carbon emission virtual option, which was welcomed by most of the committee, and encouraged to put into action by our proactive director of the education commons.
The next step was to reach out for the chairs of the Graduate Students' Research Conference 2020 which was supposed to be held during the first week of April. They were supportive and things were going viral! my idea was becoming real and I was so excited to lead the implementation and watch students benefit from this initiative until the lockdown was enforced and the conference was canceled! I had high hopes that the conference could be held virtually, but I had to settle for the loss of a great opportunity for our school as a whole and for me as a hard-working international student for reasons out of my hands.
That was the opportunity that I thought would give me some credibility to step up and find my way as a job seeker when I graduate! That hope was shattered due to the lockdown! my efforts were forgotten and I can't deny the amount of disappointment I feel being an active member of my school, whose only way to survive my hardship was by getting involved and helping fellow students. I know I am not alone in this, there are so many amazing students filled with potential who lost their opportunities because of the lockdown, and it breaks my heart.
This situation made me more concerned about the status of post-secondary international students who are still enrolled and who are expected to graduate soon, how will they get fair opportunities to find jobs, especially without having the ability to get involved at their schools and build real networks? Is it possible to build those networks virtually? how is that possible? Attending conference video calls might be considered an alternative, but does that mean we are compromising in-person interactions?
It is known that the pandemic has caused everyone a great deal, but thinking about international students as a vulnerable group of people who are getting more vulnerable makes me wonder, when will they get the attention they deserve?
This group is different as they arrived in Canada as independent individuals, paying massive amounts of tuition fees, aiming to invest in their knowledge and become beneficial to their new communities. All that they need is a fair opportunity to thrive! I believe this is the time where international students are given the chance to get involved, this could only happen through considering more flexible policies in taking them in and accepting to hire them without challenging conditions. I suggest that their schools should liaison with potential institutes, and advocate for its hardworking international students.
