Attending post-secondary in Canada opens up a new world of learning that builds knowledge and develops career-ready skills. For those students wanting to take a bold step into international education while attending college, it literally opens up the world for new learning opportunities.
Study abroad options are a staple of post-secondary education across Canada. Through partnerships that dot every corner of the world, students are able to build perspectives while awakening their travel bugs. Selkirk College direct partnerships include institutions in France, Korea, Japan, Scotland and Ireland, with broader Canadian options also available to domestic students across all programs.
"It's an excellent opportunity to learn another language and culture," says Selkirk College's English Language Coordinator Paul Spence, who has spent a career traveling the globe to teach and helps local students find their passion for international education. "The experience opens up so many doors. Studying abroad leads to personal growth and self-confidence, as well as a better understanding of one's own culture. In addition, the experience of living and studying abroad fosters the development of interpersonal and intercultural skills, soft skills that are important to today's employers."
Last year, 14 Selkirk College students traveled abroad and this year there are plans for 12 learners to take part in international study this semester and next. Through tuition sharing agreements and a number of scholarships available, study abroad provides excellent value for such an experience.
From the Kootenays to Korea
E.K. Murray is a second-year Selkirk College student in the Peace & Conflict Studies Program based out of the Castlegar Campus. Raised in the West Kootenay and a graduate of Nelson's LV Rogers Secondary, Murray is currently spending a semester at the Busan University of Foreign Studies in Busan, South Korea.
"It's an affordable way to see the world without the limits of being a tourist," she says. "In an educational international program, you get hands-on experience navigating different cultures: from activities like trying new foods or traditional clothing, to developing language and communication skills and even forming new ways of thinking. It teaches you about your own culture too, and provides great opportunities for self-reflection that you don't often get when you stay in your comfort zone. Plus, it's an awesome way to make friends from around the world!"
Murray arrived in Korea in August and began her one semester of study in the university's Korean Language & Culture Skills Program where she is taking courses in Korean language, history, culture, and intercultural communications. Though she is a long way from home, there has not been a dull moment.
"The classroom interactions and sizes at BUFS are similar to how they are at Selkirk College, so it's been easy to adjust to," she says. "I'm always busy discovering new things and visiting new places, so I haven't had time to feel homesick. Nor have I gotten bored. There is always something to do, every day of the week and at all times of day or night."
Though she has only been in Korea for a couple of months, Murray has already had chance to gain deeper understanding of both herself and her home country.
"Canadians are unusual in that we come from a very multicultural society when compared to many other countries and we can bring ideas to the table which many people from other countries haven't even considered," she says. "Your perspectives will be challenged when you go abroad, but you will also be able to challenge other people's perspectives."
Though she wholeheartedly encourages peers to explore options, Murray adds that it's not something to be done a whim.
"Many people go to different countries with high and hard-set expectations of how life will be there," Murray says. "Particularly in Korea, lots of foreigners arrive thinking that the entire country is a theme park for K-pop or some type of technological utopia, and then they're hit by the culture shock and begin to resent the country for not meeting their own personal expectations. I've seen this happen in Korea with students from other countries more than once, so I definitely recommend doing research beforehand. You've got to walk a fine line between anticipation and expectation, but it's easy if you keep an open mind and open heart."
In the early stages of her post-secondary pathway, Murray will return to Selkirk College in January to continue building an educational foundation in the study areas of history and political science. With the ultimate goal of helping figure out how to build and safer and more peaceful world, she knows that a focus on international relationships will also be an important part of her desired outcomes.
"There are a lot of ways in which this experience will benefit my long-term educational goals," says Murray. "Living abroad is a valuable type of education which simply cannot be replicated in a classroom. It has taught me things about life which I simply cannot explain on paper."
Learn more about study abroad opportunities through Selkirk International.
