Leaving your home – your place of comfort – to go study in another country can be a stressful experience. If you’re looking for tips to navigate the challenges that come with being an international student in Canada, you’ve landed on the right page. We had a chat with David Mendoza, an educator and the director of Orbit 5, a career coaching initiative that prepares international students to launch meaningful careers in the countries where they choose to study.
In the interview, David highlighted that “being an international student is a life-changing experience”. He talks about challenges such as having to adapt to different social dynamics, coming with a wealth of education and experience but lacking the confidence to pursue career opportunities. Or, the lack of job opportunities can be an obstacle in itself!
“Students need to execute a robust strategy where they can connect with people who can expedite their word prospects so that they can create their own opportunities,” says David. Watch this interview for actionable advice for success as well as how to do it all without compromising your mental health as an international student in Canada. Because, at the end of the day, building a support system to fall back on is vital.
Video Transcript:
Gertrude Tumusime:
Hello and welcome to New Canadians. Today I’m hosting David Mendoza, an educator and the director of Orbit 5. Orbit 5 is a Career Coaching initiative that prepares international students to launch meaningful careers in the countries where they choose to study. Welcome to the show, David.
David Mendoza:
Thank you very much, Trudy. A pleasure to be here today.
Gertrude Tumusime:
Good to see you too. We are going to talk about moving to Canada to come to school, the challenges that come with that, and how students can maneuver those challenges. First of all, we understand that leaving your home is stressful enough; getting into a new environment is even more stressful. How can international students go around that transition?
David Mendoza:
I love the question, Trudy, but I want to start with something very positive. Being an international student is a life-changing experience. If you make the most of it, but with every experience and like with every change in life, there come challenges as well. Right. One of the biggest challenges that I see that international students face is confidence. So they come here and they have to go through a process of adaptation, culturally. They have to take classes in a different language. They have to adapt to different social dynamics. But sometimes, even though they come with a wealth of education and experience, they don’t have the confidence to pursue career opportunities that they deserve. Another challenge that they face is that right now, there are not a lot of jobs and opportunities available because of the situation that we are going through right now. There are jobs, of course, but they have to put in the work to not just rely on the resources that the institution provides, but take that up a notch and execute a robust strategy where they can connect with people who can expedite their work prospects so that they can create their own opportunities. Mm-Hmm. An internship, a part-time job, a full-time job, opportunities that equip them with abilities and skills that they can transfer to their endeavours that they wanna pursue career-wise.
Gertrude Tumusime:
How can international students maneuver all these challenges? What are some of the resources available to them to help their mental health?
David Mendoza:
So you’re raising an excellent point, mental health. Because a lot of international students are not aware of this topic because when, in many cultures, the topic is a huge taboo. So they have to be aware that here we talk about it more openly. In times of uncertainty, imagine a student who comes to the country and has to go into lockdown. They cannot meet with their friends that they make; their friends that become their family, and on the other hand, their families are far away, and with all this uncertainty, it can have a negative impact on their mental health. So they have to reach out, they have to talk about this if they feel that something is off. There are counselling departments within the institutions with professional counsellors, so that they can have this with their friends, so that they build a support system where nobody feels alone. So, if they open up the conversation, maybe other students will think, you know what? I’ve been feeling the same, but I have felt so embarrassed to talk about this. You know? So, creating a support system where everyone can thrive.
Gertrude Tumusime:
Okay. And lastly, and finally, how do students take care of their mental health in order to manage getting the right placement without exactly being so stressed out?
David Mendoza:
Yeah, so again, mental health should become a priority for them because without mental health, it is gonna be very difficult to overcome the challenges and to find the right placement. And the placement—it is the climax of the program. So students need to focus on a strategy to make sure that they find a placement that is aligned with their interests and the skills they want to develop within the industry of their interest. Yeah. They should do due diligence so that they connect with people, they do their own research, and they start their own projects to make sure that they find opportunities that are aligned with those interests.
Gertrude Tumusime:
Thank you so much, David. It’s been nice talking to you.
David Mendoza:
Thank you so much. My pleasure.
Also read: Boris Remes’s recipe for success for international students in Canada
Like this story? Share it with a friend!