A Personal Reflection on College & Prepping for the Future
By: Fifi
With the end of the semester coming up, graduation season is starting. If you’re starting to feel nostalgic and nervous what what’s next, dive into this blog to find some relatable content and helpful resources!
I’ve been at Sheridan for 4 years. I moved to Canada from South Africa a week before school started in 2022. I still remember the overwhelming anxiety and excitement I experienced about starting a life in a new country. My first few weeks were filled with a lot of new information. I had no friends and family. Here, so I made an effort to connect with new students and find people who I fit in with. I quickly learned how different Canada is to South Africa and I felt out of place for a while, something I explore more in my blog about navigating the film industry as a Black woman.
I eventually started feeling like I was making a home for myself here and became more comfortable in my environment. I found friendships with other international students, which made my journey so much easier. A game changer for me was having people around me who can relate to homesickness, unfamiliar territory and the uncertainty that comes with graduating and staying in a foreign country. Fast forward to now, I almost wish I could go back to that first week and do everything all over again. Meet the same people, take the same classes, cry, laugh, and experience every single thing again just so I could appreciate it even more.
The best part of my experience at Sheridan College has been working at the SSU. In November of 2022, my life changed when I got a job as a tech team member. Working with my close friend, Pickles, was an amazing opportunity to learn a new skillset and realise my love for live production. The summer of 2023, I visited South Africa and started looking for a summer job, when I couldn’t find one, I reached out to my boss, Danny and asked if the SSU was hiring that summer. When he suggested that I apply for the Student Life Lead position, I didn’t know what to expect.
After being interviewed and getting the job, the next two years brought some of my closest friends and fondest memories into my life and before I knew it, going to work would become my favourite things to do. After my contract ended, I was lucky enough to become part of the Content Marketing team at the SSU. I want to give a huge shoutout to Kim, Danny, Shavayah and Riddhi, the best managers one could ask for. My friends, Laura, Mau, Ahmed and Alfred are my oldest friends and I’m eternally grateful to know them. I could name everyone who had a lasting impact on me but that would literally need it’s own page.
As an international student, finding a community here has been a priority for me and when other international friends of mine started asking about my plans for after graduation, I had to buckle down and decide. I have friends who have graduated and are still living and working in Canada. I spoke to them and realised there is a strict process to follow if that’s the path you want to take. So, I started doing my research and that’s when I learned about the Post Graduate Work Permit (PGWP).
The PGWP is a permit that allows international students to live and work in Canada after graduating and can be used to support you in the pathways to apply for other immigration statuses. There are strict timelines and documents that you need for your application, all of which I learned about on the IRCC’s website. I also got in touch with Sheridan’s Immigration Advisment services and they’ve been a huge help for me with their webinars and meetings, be sure to look into those long before grad to make sure you have everything in order!
All in all, the biggest things I’ve learned in these last four years have been how to trust myself, push through difficulties and, most of all, embrace every moment. If you’re reading this blog, remember to make the most of your college experience! Even when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and you don’t know what to do, think back to a few years ago, take a look at how far you’ve come and remember that in a few years, whatever you’re going through now will just be another memory in your life.
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