Discovering Canada, getting their 'roar' on

Choosing a university is never an easy decision – so imagine considering it while you’re studying and living in a foreign country.

On Friday, Nov. 25, Dal rolled out the welcome mat to almost 130 international high school students participating in the Nova Scotia International Student Program (NSISP). Students in grades 10, 11 and 12, come to the program from countries all over the world including Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Turkey, Germany, Australia, Thailand and Belgium.

NSISP offers single semester and/or full year programs and is available in over 90 junior and senior high schools. They’re given the opportunity to choose from a variety of subjects—arts, sciences, languages, and computers, to name a few—and a variety of extracurricular activities such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, curling, skiing, and creative arts. They live with a host family while attending school.

The students made their way to Dal in the late afternoon, having dinner at Shirreff Hall before being given the Dalhousie lowdown by Kate Somers, assistant registrar, recruitment. They also heard from a team from Dalhouise’s International Centre, including manager Pam Williams, advisor Teresa Inacio and support specialist Kewoba Carter. Also present were two student volunteers who spoke about the first-year Dalhousie experience, from getting involved in the school community to the study spaces and supports available. The NSISP students had lots of questions, about everything from scholarships and language tests to residence and social life.

Then the fun began: a trivia game with questions about Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, and Canada. Some of the categories included ‘All Things Academic,’ ‘Dal Lingo,’ ‘Campus Odds and Ends,’ ‘Dal Trivia’ and ‘Famous Dal Alumni.’ Not only were the students enthusiastic but even some national rivalries emerged as students competed against each other, representing their respective countries – all in good fun of course. And after the game was over, each student received a pair of black and gold Dalhousie mittens.

Then, it was off to the Dal vs. St. Mary’s hockey game at Memorial Arena. For some of the students, this was their very first hockey game. There were noisemakers, photo-ops with the Dal Tiger and an enthusiastic response to the game itself.

Programs like NSISP help introduce international students to Canadian life and culture, as well as some of the post-secondary opportunities available, explains Sue Dorey-Power, associate registrar and director of recruitment.

“We are thrilled that we have international students from around the world studying in our Nova Scotia high school system,” she says. “This has been a great opportunity to provide a taste of campus life for these students and answer questions they have about continuing their studies in Nova Scotia and at Dalhousie in the future.”