This past Saturday, September 8, Sheridan was proud to welcome over 700 International students to the Sheridan community as it hosted its third International Welcome Festival: A Celebration for New International Students.
Held in the Peace Garden at the Davis Campus, new international students, along with faculty and staff, joined together for a day of festivities that included cultural performances, entertainment, and food. Sponsors of the Festival included guard.me (presenting sponsor), City of Brampton, Town of Oakville and Royal Bank of Canada.
The Festival Marketplace, where various Sheridan departments and community agencies gave students an opportunity to learn more about Sheridan and the community, opened the festival. A performance from The Lion Dance Association also warmed up the crowd.
Sheridan’s Dean, International, Dr. Mike Allcott, kicked off the event as he welcomed International students to Sheridan. After a greeting from Sunand Sharma, Manager of Student Rights and Responsibilities (Davis Campus) and a special Indigenous Welcome, Dr. Janet Morrison offered her own welcoming remarks.
Jaipaul Massey-Singh brought greetings from Sheridan’s Board of Governors, after which the assembled speakers released doves as a gesture of welcome and intercultural understanding.
Several cultural performances representing different countries was also a big part of the event, including:
- A traditional friendship dance performed by Leslie McCue and Lindy Kinoshameg.
- A Chinese Lute performance from Ms. Lan Ye and Tina Jiang.
- A music theatre performance from 3rd year Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Sheridan students Wychita Henricks and Aveleigh Keller.
- Caribbean music from The Canadian Caribbean Association of Halton.
- A dance performance and bachata lesson from Ceci and Pablo from Salsa in the 6ix.
- An Indian dance performance from Jhankaar Dance Academy.
A highlight of the day was a performance from Internet music sensation Shobhit Banwait, a tabla drummer and Sheridan alumnus whose covers of popular radio hits have drawn millions of views on YouTube and Facebook. Banwait wore a Sheridan Bruins jersey for his performance.
Lunch was also served, which included vegetarian poutine to introduce Canadian cuisine to the students.
With over 2,300 new International students from 85 countries attending Sheridan this year, Elena Shik, Associate Director of International Services and Study Abroad, says events like the International Welcome Festival not only give students a warm Canadian welcome and lasting memories of their Sheridan experience, they also give Sheridan an opportunity to show its appreciation for its international students and what they bring to Sheridan. “We’re so fortunate to have many international students choose Sheridan as their destination of choice and are grateful at how much more vibrant our campuses have become because of them,” says Shik.