On June 30, Conestoga employees and students celebrated Canada’s 149th birthday at the college’s Welcome Centre at the Doon campus. The party was hosted by the International Education Office and featured a photo booth, desserts, Canadian music and a Canadian-themed trivia challenge.
Mobile Solutions Development students Hari Dave, Ranveer Singh, Yawinder Pal Singh, Manavpreet Kang and Shubhman Kumar joined the festivities at the International Education Office to celebrate their first Canada Day.
Students Ranveer Singh, Hari Dave, Shubham Kumar and Yadwinder Pal Singh took part in the festivities. Pal Singh arrived in Canada this past January, but the others have only been here two months.
The foursome have quite a bit in common already: they left family and friends behind in India to study at Conestoga, they are in the same program and they are all celebrating their first Canada Day together - something, they said, that makes them feel like part of the community.
They chose to study at Conestoga because of the Mobile Solutions Development graduate certificate program and nodded in agreement when Singh said Conestoga was the only college to offer a program he was interested in.
Since arriving in Canada the group has enjoyed more than just the course work. They have found the region to be peaceful and the people in it nice. Despite just meeting each other a couple of months ago, the students said they are now “like brothers” and plan to live and work in the region long-term with the hope of bringing their relatives to Canada later on. Right now the biggest challenge will be adjusting to the cold Canadian winters.
Conestoga hosts 1,600 international students from more than 75 countries; the International Education Office provides services and activities to support students and help them achieve academic and social success. In addition to an orientation program for new students, the office coordinates trips to local tourist attractions and hosts workshops that deal with a range of topics. Student volunteers support the various activities, giving them a chance to meet and help new international students while enhancing their own leadership skills.
For more information, visit the International Education Office website