THE opportunity to tour universities in Canada as part of a learning experience was not lost on students and guidance counsellors who recently visited nine institutions in both Toronto and Nova Scotia provinces; an experience they said was “very informative”.

The week-long EduCanada Guidance Counsellors, Students, and Media Tour 2019, a collaboration between Canada’s provinces and territories and Global Affairs Canada, was designed to promote Canada as a study destination or education partner to international audiences.

The tour included five guidance counsellors, five students, a trade commissioner (EduCanada) and the Jamaica Observer. At the end participants shared their experience.

For Immaculate Conception High School dean of sixth form Omowunmi Ehkihametalor it was a pleasure to be a part of the tour.

Ehkihametalor, whose portfolio at the Constant Spring Road, St Andrew-based institution covers college advice, said the experience allowed her to learn more about Canadian universities and colleges.

“Certainly, I’m better equipped to guide my students where these universities and colleges are concerned. The information that I have obtained will continue to help me build on my knowledge of universities to ascertain the ones best suited for different students,” she said.

Immaculate High student Arielle Aarons’ experience was great.

Although for her it was “a bit hectic” the tour allowed her to soak up campus life even if for a short time.

“It was great to go to the different universities and tour them and see what residence life is like and learn about the little quirks that they had and seeing the different personalities of some of the professors and some of the faculties there. I learnt a lot about co-op programmes and scholarship opportunities and living life in Nova Scotia. I learnt about the average tuition and the population. So not only did I learn about the universities, but I learnt about the country itself and what the education [system] is like in Canada. I think [these are things] that I would like to impart on my peers,” said Aarons.

Co-op education, or co-operative education, is an academic programme broken up with periods in which a student will be allowed to work in an industry related to their schooling. Most co-op programmes are structured so that each term or semester of schooling is alternated with a term or semester of work.

Like Aarons, Wolmer’s High School for Girls’ Head Girl Seychelle Doyley found the tour exciting and informative.

“This isn’t my first time in Canada, but I believe of my two experiences I have gained a lot more information about the country and colleges. To be honest, initially I had my mind focused on schools in the [United] States but after the tour, I’m considering options in Canada.

“The [universities] that we got to go to, I’ve come to realise, that there are a lot of opportunities for international students, especially Jamaican and Caribbean students on a whole,” Doyley said.

She shared that she enjoyed how “hands-on” and “experiential” the tour was.

“We got to actually stay in the different residences, speak to international students there; we had very informative and detailed presentations where we could interact with persons, recruitment officers, immigration officers to ask any questions we had, and clarified a lot of things or misunderstandings that we might have had before and I thought that was great. I want to say to my peers that there are a lot of opportunities to suit your needs. We saw a wonderful art school, business schools and what I especially enjoyed was the fact that they were so open in ensuring that it’s not just about [university] ranking. It’s about ensuring that the students themselves have the best experience,” Doyley stated.

It was senior guidance counsellor at Wolmer’s, Diana Headlam-Wray’s first time on the EduCanada Tour and she described the experience as an eye-opener.

“This tour was very enlightening as it gave me a first-hand look on what goes on behind the scenes in terms of when my students apply for an overseas university and what really goes into planning, organising, and executing this particular venture. This tour included two provinces which I found very interesting because it gave two different points of view on what campus life would be like in the busy city of Toronto and also in a laid back environment like Halifax.

“I think it is a very good venture as it gives a first-hand experience of what life will be like before committing to a particular university. So, I really want to laud the effort of the Canadian High Commission and Ms [Yasmin] Chong for organising and implementing such a successful tour and I’d definitely recommend any counsellor and prospective student to participate as it will be very informative and enlightening and ultimately will help them to make a very good decision regarding studying overseas,” said Headlam-Wray.