Exchange Students
Tags: Vol. 4, June 2024, Issue 2
We welcomed three exchange students to the FSCS in Fall 2023, from the Netherlands and Vietnam. One exchange student, Oanh Cao, from Vietnam, shared with us about her experience.
OANH CAO: “Every year, there are 2 students from my home institution in Vietnam - National Economics University (NEU) - that come to Humber College for an exchange. When seeking an exchange, I chose Humber due to the long-standing partnership it has with NEU, and because I had the opportunity to apply for the Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) from the Government of Canada.
In May 2023, there were 10 Humber students coming to my home university for the Summer Study Abroad Program. I participated, sharing with the exchange students from Humber, about my culture, and guiding them around the city of Hanoi. Four months later, I came to Humber as a semester exchange student, and they were there to be my local friends in Canada. When I arrived, they came to the airport to pick me up. During the first few days, they took me to the supermarket, showed me simple things such as how to take public transit, and helped me settle. Admittedly, living abroad in a totally different culture for the first time was not easy to some point, but thanks to all those Humber friends, I adapted more quickly than I thought. Humber supported me in every way during my semester exchange. Even before leaving Vietnam, Ayesha Amin, the Global Coordinator of FSCS, along with the team at Humber Global, assisted me throughout the process, and helped to prepare me for my departure and arrival. The supportive environment exceeded my expectations.
During my time in Canada, I did so many things for the first time that I can’t even count. I joined many activities and events, and made the most of my time, making friends both in class and out, visiting many places across the city, travelling to other cities including Quebec City, Montreal, and Ottawa. I also met friends from many different countries and had the chance to learn about their cultures and share mine with them. The global experience has broadened my perspective, it has taught me more lessons that I could ever learn in class. Humber has given me a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will forever cherish.”
Did you know?
FSCS students can learn abroad too! Interested students are encouraged to check out the Humber Global website for semester and summer abroad, to find out if they are eligible. A Humber travel bursary is available for outbound students too!
