International Students At Laurier @internationalstudentsatlaurier - Tumblr Blog

*Algonquin Park, Ontario

Semester of Winter 2016 is almost done. Officially we still have a few more days of classes but I had my last class today. After classes end, students get a few study days and then final exams start and go almost all the way until the end of April. Many students go home after, but some will stay on campus. For example, me! My program is co-op and I was on the work term in the fall term, so I need to take classes in the summer to stay on track.

Being on campus in the summer definitely feels different: it is quieter, there is a lot less students, library closes earlier. I have heard several times that there are no students who are OK with summer school, you either love it or hate it. I guess I am lucky because I love being on campus and in Waterloo in the summer. Days are longer so you do not walk to school when it is still dark and come back home when it is already dark. You finish classes and it still feels like you have a lot of free time before the day ends. The weather is nice: it is warm and sunny so you can spend more tome outside going to the parks, or going to restaurants where you can sit on the outside patios, or just walking to uptown Waterloo to get groceries instead of taking the bus.

I am a very outdoorsy and one of my favourite summer things is going camping. Canada and Ontario are just great for camping! For two years I went canoeing to Algonquin Park. It is a provincial park about three and a half hours North-East from Waterloo (you will need a car or friend with a car to get there). It is absolutely beautiful! This year I will be trying something different – in May we will go kayaking to the Georgian Bay. I have never been to Georgian Bay nor I ever tried kayaking so I am very excited!

I will keep you posted how my kayaking adventure goes :)

Cheers, Oxana

Becoming a Laurier Alumni

At long last my undergraduate academic career has come to an end and it is a bitter sweet moment. My friends, classmates and I are ecstatic to not have to deal with the pressure of exams, lab tutorials and late nights studying. However in a way, these are the very things we are going to miss. Our amazing professors and lab co-ordinators, the insurmountable knowledge we have obtained and become passionate about, and the many nights we have spent comforting each other about schoolwork, personal life and everything in between. Though my time as an international ambassador for this prestigious institution has been short, it has inspired me so much and given me an amazing insight into my own character and abilities. The amazing people I have met both on and off-campus are an added plus! The clubs and communities I have been privileged to be a part of have given me a new family that I am proud to be a part of. I have learned so much about team work and collaboration through this school in both my academic work and personal life. As I look back on this chapter in my life, I am so grateful to the new family I have gained here at Laurier and the countless memories I have to cherish right from getting a personal song and dance from Icebreakers on my first day, down to the day I walk down the graduation aisle to receive my degree. To the Class of 2016, this school gave us the chance to experience all these wonderful things to the highest possible degree and we could not be prouder to call ourselves Laurier Alumni.

- Karen Essah

My final year

First semester of the last year of school! It cannot get more exciting than going back to Waterloo knowing that finally after 8 months; my five-year undergraduate program will be done. Yay! Well, if I pass all remaining upper year courses on the first try, of course, but I will try really hard. During the past four years I spent most of my time in Waterloo. That is the second longest time I spent living in the same place. The first would be living in my home city in Kazakhstan from birth and until moving to Canada to finish school; and the third would be studying in high school in Hamilton (I was there for little over a year). Waterloo is a very nice small city and I think I will miss living here. But I am still more excited about graduating then sad about moving away from Waterloo.

By the way this is not some old blog post written way back in September when the school year started. It is January 2016, the second week of classes. The reason for school starting 4 month later for me is that I was on co-op term in the Fall semester. This was my fourth and the last co-op term; and the second time I worked for the same company. The first time I worked there I was in Finance. Then for my next co-op I was working with a different company (not because I did not want to go back. It is my school’s and that company’s timelines that did not match). Thankfully it all worked out for my last co-op and I was able to join the Internal Controls department there. Getting this job was very important to me as I am going into accounting and planning to get a professional designation and having relevant work experience would definitely help with my future career. My department never had a student doing the job before, so in the beginning they were a bit hesitant, but I did very well. Proof? They hired me for full time! Remember I said how things cannot get more exciting than when you are graduating? I lied. Knowing that I am graduating in 8 months and have a full time job starting right after is so much better!

Well, this is my story. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!

- Oxana Borkovkina

Students Union Building

Why Do International Students Need to Learn Canadian Academic Writing Style?

Depends on where you’re from, many countries have different styles in terms of academic writing than Canada or America. For example, European scholars like to leave some space for their readers to think. Commonly, European researchers only explain things that significantly concern their research topic and result. On the other hand, North American academic writers tend to build up their argument in a very explicit and strong way, which means that they “spoon-feed” their readers. Given the variations in academic writing styles, understanding the principles that underlie the North America academic writing style is important, especially to those who study in Canada or America.

Canadian students have been trained to use citations (also called references) in their writings since elementary school. This means by the time they get into university, a good majority will know how to cite properly. In contrast, international students from Asia don’t really get trained on how to cite before they enter university. Some of them don’t even learn citation unless they need to publish their works, internationally. This is because in many Asian countries, such as China, high school education and below focuses on certain knowledge that’s been regarded as rules or principles. These rules are considered as common sense, therefore citing them is not encouraged.

Unfortunately, this variation in writing styles put many international students in trouble. For example, they get accused for plagiarism due to improper citations; or they get low grade in writing assignments, as the way they defend their argument doesn’t seem organized to a Canadian professor. Therefore, new international students tend to get overwhelmed when they are “forced” to generate citations.

Besides citations, structure is another challenge that many international and domestic students face. However, it’s harder especially for students who identify English as their second language because they’re still learning to polish their paper to a highly structured level. Improvement on structure cannot be achieved by night. In fact, it’s almost impossible to form a good writing habit without a good amount of practice.

Writing in general is not something that every student enjoys doing. It’s just like math that with enough practice, you will eventually get better.

- Zack

Bricker Academic Lecture Hall

Ice Week

So what is Ice week? Ice week is a tradition in Wilfrid Laurier University, and has been around for over 30 years. It is a competition that every 3rd year business bachelor administration students must participate. And a competition that allows business students to apply everything and I mean EVERYTHING (marketing, human resources, finance, operations, etc…) that we have learned so far and apply it in our respective case. What makes this so intriguing is that we are analyzing real problems faced by REAL companies. The competition begins with groups of five to six which are generated randomly. The group will then submit a written report and present it in front of the Board of Lazaridis. The groups with the best overall performance will be able to move up to compete with other semi-finalist, and then the finalist. Once the group reach the final stage, they will be evaluated by actual business executives. The top six finalists then receive a scholarship with the first place receiving a trophy!

Although Ice Week is considered one of the toughest times as a business student, it is also one of the most rewarding. You’ll be able to integrate management disciplines into a real-time problem solving context while experiencing real work pressures, developing presentation skills, and interacting with business executives.

Here was the basic outline/schedule for ICE WEEK this year:

March 9: Team Announcement

March 10: Case Announcement (case and supplementary material becomes available)

March 11: Question and Answer Session with Company Executives

March 15: Submission of report

March 17: Internal Board Presentations (one winning team from each board)

March 18: Semi-Final Presentations, announcement of finalist teams, finalist presentation, award ceremony.

Through this competition 3rd year BBA

- Richard(Junghyun) Lee (3rd year Bachelor of Business Administration)

Solarium

Campus Clubs

Here at Wilfrid Laurier University there is a diverse range of students, and as such a diverse portfolio of student clubs and programs. One of the newest initiatives is the Social Innovation and Venture Creation (SIVC), it acts as a hub for facilitating student learning in solving complex social issues through social ventures.

I recently joined Community Connect, a club/organization that works under the SIVC initiative. We create context for undergraduates from any faculty to gain valuable consulting experience in problem solving with local non-profit organizations; while training them through labs by SOJO and pairing them with MBA mentors. This context sets the stage for the start of any undergrad career, be it experience as a consultant or a networking opportunity.

As is common knowledge now, most jobs in the job market are gained through networking. So odds are my next job would be through someone I know, guess the odds are in my favour. This is just one of the many diverse opportunities here on campus.

Service Laurier can answer all of your questions about financial aid, course selection and tuition.

What the completion of Lazaridis Hall building signifies

Exciting news for incoming and current Laurier Business & Economics students! The wait is almost over as our highly anticipated project, Lazaridis Hall, is going to be finished in September 2016. There are a few reasons why you should be excited for the completion of Lazaridis Hall. This building is designed to accommodate students, as it focuses on creating an environment to promote student collaboration, engaging labs and meaningful lectures.

The primary goal of Lazaridis Hall is to facilitate active and collaborative learning. For example, the lectures are specially designed to focus on an alternative method of learning, such as the “Flipped Classroom Teaching Method” where lecture time is used for class collaboration. In addition, this building contains a lot of spacious areas that can be used as a great location for studying and hosting school club activities. All of these features including the newly available technology contribute to a cutting-edge learning experience. Special thanks to the Government of Ontario for their generous contribution of $72.6 million; and Mike Lazaridis, a Canadian entrepreneur who has kind-heartedly invested $20 million. Without their generosity, this project could not have been pursued. Once again, a special thanks to our special contributors, as Lazaridis Hall will provide a great opportunity and environment for Laurier students to unleash their potential and become Canada’s leaders of tomorrow.

- Richard (Junghyun) Lee, 3rd year BBA

Get all of our questions answered at our U Desk.

International Students Work Experience Program (ISWEP)

By Rosaline Novelia

At the end of my first year, I was wondering how I was supposed to gain a Canadian work experience. I heard about the ISWEP program, which is a work study program offered for International Students. I think this program is a really good opportunity for international students who are looking for work experience. I completed all the requirements to apply for this program and then got the approval at the beginning of September. Next, I applied to some part-time jobs on campus through the Laurier Navigator. After some processes, I finally got the position that I really wanted! I was so happy to be hired by the department that I highly respect.

ISWEP program is supported by the Career Development Centre. Once a month, all ISWEP students would have a group meeting to discuss about their work experience, and the advisors from the Career Centre would give us useful tips to prepare us for our jobs in the future. The topic for the meeting was always different, depending on the students’ requests. I feel that the meeting was always beneficial because it gave me more knowledge about everything related to career.

My favourite thing being a part of ISWEP is that this program improves me as an individual. My work study job gave me training and workshops to better understand about the work environment, effective communication between my managers and I, and even acknowledge my own strengths and weaknesses.

I feel that through this program, I learned so many things even beyond from the work experience that I received. The most useful skill is time management. Now, I have more confident to manage my time effectively because I have to balance between school and work life. It’s also great to keep busy if you live far away from your parents and your home.

I know that most of international students feel that their academic life is more important than anything. However, getting involved outside academic activity is also crucial for your future career. If you are afraid, don’t worry because everybody has been through the same process. I highly recommend all international students to be more active, and if you are confused where to start your career, I suggest you to join the ISWEP program as your first step to accomplish your career aspiration.

Co-op & Career Centre, Waterloo Campus

24 Lounge (Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

Sunday Activities

Here in the city of Waterloo, though small, is surrounded by many awesome places. During the weekend when school is on a 2-day break, you have a list of various fun activities to choose from such as: ice ring skating, snow tubing and a ton of physical sports like football at recreation centers. These are some of the reasons why you will never find yourself with nothing to do here at Wilfrid Laurier University. Not to mention while living in residence in your first year, Residence Life Coordinators will ensure that you never have a dull moment while living away from home. For example, there are many activities such as: HAWK weekend, a weekend competition between residences; Open mic night on the campus restaurant, so you can sing your heart away; and not to mention the various other activities done within your residence every month.

I would like to share my experience during one of these weekends. My friends and I went out to Uptown Waterloo, only 5 minutes from Laurier, and we stumbled upon a barbecue festival. Which is the most amazing thing you could stumble upon on a hot Saturday afternoon. Our initial plan was to go out for lunch, and this was a perfect replacement. So we went all in, trying ribs from different booths and voting for which is the best. There were also grilled corn and cold refreshments available. Not to mention a band playing live, the overall atmosphere was amazing!

That is one of many weekends we have here at Laurier, and there’s more to come! What makes the experience even better is the diversity in our town! Make sure you send your OUAC application to Wilfrid Laurier University and we’ll experience all this together!

- Chike

Ecohawks 2014-2015

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