“With prestige comes great opportunity.”
That’s what Claire Seremba, 24-year old Uganda native, says of receiving the chance to study at Dalhousie this fall. Claire and her fellow student Roxanne Graham, from Grenada, are studying at Dal this year as part of the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship Program.
The QEII Scholars Program is a national collaborative initiative that operates through Rideau Hall Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada and Universities Canada. Its goal is to foster a dynamic community of young global leaders across Canada and the Commonwealth who share knowledge, exchange ideas, and collaborate on meaningful initiatives through cross-cultural exchanges. Within this program, Dalhousie has teamed up with partners in the Caribbean, Uganda and Tanzania to provide QES funded opportunities for students to receive academic credit while studying internationally and expanding their networks.
Read more: Meet some of the Dal students who've been part of the QEII program
Roxanne, a master’s student in Marine Management, says she’s felt incredibly welcome from the moment she stepped onto campus.
“When it comes to making friends, I’m actually enjoying it,” she says. “My classmates are really enjoying my culture. I teach them certain dance moves and we have fun, so it’s been really exciting so far.”
“Exciting and scary,” says Claire about receiving her acceptance into the program. “It’s my first time traveling out of Africa so there are a lot of adjustments, but there’s always a way over every single hurdle.”
Interdisciplinary experiences
Claire is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Development Studies at Dal. Originally from the city of Kampala, she learned of the opportunity to study abroad through the QES program while working towards her undergraduate degree in Uganda.
After being approached by a professor who suggested she fill out an application, she began to do her research on the university. She's always been interested in gender and women’s development, and policy issues including such as barriers to employment, education or leadership skills. She realized she might have found a good fit.
“The program that they offer here at Dal is quite interdisciplinary, and that’s what I like to do,” she says. “The arts have interesting alignments in terms of development studies, and how they align those to student activities as well. To have that kind of different college experience is really great.”
Since arriving to Halifax in August, Claire’s experience at Dal has been positive and accommodating. Despite Canada’s education system being different than that of Uganda’s, the support of her peers and faculty members in the IDS department have helped her settle comfortably both into her classes and the culture. Her keen interest in NGO and humanitarian work also prompted her to join WUSC (World University Service of Canada), a society at Dal that aims to improve the lives of those in developing countries.
“Through the society and in my classes, we’ve had really good engagement about lessons learned from Uganda and what Uganda can learn from Canada,” Claire says. “It’s been sort of a cross-cultural interaction and exchange, and that’s been really phenomenal to get to know the perspectives that people have about my country.”
Forging connections
As for Roxanne, after completing her undergraduate degree in biology, wildlife and conservation in her native Grenada she chose Dal to pursue her master’s based on the multidisciplinary nature of the Marine Management program.
“My background is mostly conservation, but marine management focuses on policies, conservation and the different logics that come into marine management,” she says. “That one dimension of conservation, that’s what my mind frame was, so now this gives me more exposure to all the different aspects that come into proper marine management.”
Throughout her master’s, Roxanne plans to expand on her main areas of interest which include environmental and social assessments, as well as looking at management plans for marine invasive species. Back home, Roxanne is also the founder of organization and annual event, Face of Grenada (FOG). Under the motto “Beauty with a Purpose,” FOG’s mission is to celebrate the beauty and talents of Grenadian women while highlighting socio-economic or environmental issues.
Upon completion of their degrees through the QES program, both women have plans for the future that involve returning home in some regard to share what they’ve learned abroad. Beyond that, Claire hopes to one day work for UN Women and Global Health Corps, and Roxanne plans to pursue a career in marine consultation and education.
Whichever path they choose, both will remain part of a high-profile national network of scholars, a status awarded to them by the QES program for their exemplary academics.
With prestige, indeed, comes great opportunity.