The first arrival on campus for thousands of new post-secondary students can be an exciting and challenging experience at the best of times. Now consider the experience through the lens of a student who is new, not only to the college and the city, but to the country as well.
One of the major responsibilities of Sheridan’s International Office is to help students new to the college – and Canada – successfully acclimatize to the campus and the community. All students will be faced with the anxiety of a new school, a new home, and navigating new relationships. International students face these, as well as the added challenges of Canadian life.
Even before international students set foot on a Sheridan campus, they are welcomed to one of five ‘pre-departure’ orientation sessions via webinar. According to Nimo Hussein, Manager of International Business Development, the sessions truly reflect what makes Sheridan’s approach unique, the “enthusiasm and support that faculty and staff demonstrate in helping new students adjust and the vested interest they have in their students’ success.”
Scott Hadley, from the Faculty of Business, couldn’t agree more. “I am confident students will be much more successful as a result of our efforts to increase their awareness of how to navigate the college system and the plethora of resources available to them.”
The presentations are designed to provide the perfect balance between academics and extracurricular life. Each presentation incorporates both a traditional presentation on college life – academic instruction, resources, and the rigours of study – with the first-person testimony of current Sheridan international students and the individual challenges of adjusting to life at a new school, and a new country.
The topics addressed in each session may vary between topics and presenters, but the purpose remains the same – a commitment to helping international students succeed from the start.
The sessions take place between Monday, August 12th and Wednesday, August 14th and are broken down as follows:
August 12, 2013
8:30-9:30AM (EST) Faculty of Business
9:45-10:45AM (EST) Finance & Health Insurance
August 13, 2013
8:30-9:30AM (EST) Faculty of Applied Science and Technology
9:45-10:45AM (EST) Canadian Classroom & Library Services
August 14, 2013
8:30-9:30AM (EST) Arrival & Registration at your campus