This blog is an archived post written by Eva during her 4^th year in the Urban and Regional Environments stream.

 

 

 

Throughout my four years of study at York University, I made sure to get involved in many ways to make the most of my degree and international experience.  One of the first things I took part in was Orientation Week, which is a week full of events that allows first year students to meet new people and get more familiar with the campus. The events vary from a beach trip and a boat cruise (See the picture of me at the boat cruise on the right), to team building activities and sports. Prior to Orientation Week, I did not know anyone. However, the Orientation Leaders, who are upper year students, helped me with meeting people. It was a welcoming and multicultural environment. By being actively engaged in the activities, I was able to make friends with students who were in my classes as well as students from other majors. Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to ask Orientation leaders about their student experience, Toronto, courses, and student organizations.

Orientation week is only one the events that the colleges organized for students. Throughout the year, I joined events, such as movie events, talent shows, board games.  Founders College, the college for Environmental Studies students, also organized Blue Mountain skiing trip (See the picture of me at the ski trip on the left) and Montreal Trip, which offered me the opportunity to travel and meet people in a relaxed environment. Moreover, Founders College has quiet study spaces where students can study together. I regularly visited the lounge that is open during the week where students can interact with each other and have fun.

I also got actively involved in student organizations. I was particularly interested in joining  the Bachelor of Environmental Studies Student Association to meet more people that were in my classes. I enjoyed their coffee houses. I also joined the Slavic Student Association (see me tabling for them at Yorkfest on the right) and the Organization of Latin American Students. The Organization of Latin American Students has regular office hours during the week, where students can socialize and learn more about upcoming events.  On the left, I am dressed up for one of the events with the Organization which was the Fashion Show as part of York's Multicultural Week.  I also had the opportunity to practice my Spanish, even though the events were all in English.  Since I had a positive experience in my first year as a regular member, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and become an executive member. This helped me with learning about event planning, develop leadership skills, and make lifelong friendships.

York International also offers trips and events for students. In my first year, I joined the Niagara Falls trip. During the holidays, I participated in events including Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner.

Even though York University is a large campus, there are many ways to meet people with similar interests. By exploring different communities, I was able to learn about myself and find out more about my interests.