Years from now, when you look back on your college journey, the moments that stick out will be the moments of joy, of accomplishment, of growing to love your field and education. As Open House approaches and a new group of students look forward to forming new memories, Mohawk College students Blen, Nish and Paula took the time to reflect on what they have loved about their college journey.
Apart from being students at Mohawk College, there is something that Blen, Nish and Paula have in common: they have fallen in love with the diverse community at Mohawk College, each taking their own paths to become involved in the college community.
For Nish, his community involvement took the form of a club which he formed with his friends. “About six months ago, I started my own club at the College, it was first known as ‘More Code Ready,’ said Nish. “The aim of that club was to help fill in the gaps that students have once they are graduating or once they've graduated from college. We created this small club where people would get together, coach each other, prepare for job interviews and help each other with their job search.”
“The club was amazing,” he continued. “Most of my friends who were with me, they all got co-ops. I got a desired co-op. It was very good, but then we recognized, ‘this club that is code ready, it could be something else. It could be something bigger.’ International students and people that are members of the BIPOC community, they struggle with managing part time education, part time studies, full time education and all those personal commitments they have. So, we decided to use the club to create these resources for all students, irrespective of their program. We rebranded it as Redefine Club and we collaborated with a non-profit organization named Redefine.
While she isn’t a member of the Redefine club, the ethos of inclusion and diversity that is prominent in the college is one that Blen has been very thankful for. “I love the diversity of it, especially because I come from an international background. I love to see that there's a lot of people from different places. I look forward to it because every single day I'm learning something new from somebody, whether it’s their culture, or their tradition or their history,” said Blen. “You wouldn't be able to get this if you went to a very small college where there isn’t a lot of diversity. I look forward to the diversity, and to the events that are happening. There are different things that are happening throughout the campus all around the year that allow you to be included, or to learn about something.”
This diversity has allowed Paula to discover one of the things she loves most about Mohawk College: learning an impressive array of languages. “I'm learning some different languages, not just English or my native language Spanish. I am learning Vietnamese, I'm learning Nigerian, I'm learning Mandarin, I’m learning Arabic,” she said. “That's something that I really like, because when you can at least say ‘hi’ in a different language, you have the chance to make a new friend. This is something that only Mohawk College offers to me, to make a new friend from Syria, from Pakistan, from whatever place, to share our own experiences as students and make a new friend.”
According to Blen, the student experience at Mohawk College is unmatched. “You wouldn't get this opportunity elsewhere, to be honest. Once you finish here and you go and start your career, unless it's an international company, you likely wouldn't get this level of diversity,” she said. “You will get some level of diversity, but not like this, where everybody is celebrating who they are and what they are and without shying away from it. I look forward to that experience every time I go to Mohawk College.”
