Marking my share of ups and downs, highs and lows, something exceptional yet an astounding experience. This is me summing up my life lately, and this may sound relatable to you if you are an international student right? Welcome to student life!
As an international student in Canada for almost 2 years now, currently studying Digital Marketing at York University, life has been a rollercoaster ride. Yet this ride of education has been fruitful and I am grateful to have taken this courageous step to leave my country and study abroad to navigate my life, choosing a lifepath of independence and self-discovery. Arriving in a new country as an international student made me have a thousand different feelings at first but exploring and learning new things is something that was the most exciting part for me. As I am now well acquainted with the lifestyle, and different people in Toronto, it feels like a fun place to live in.
Almost 6 months ago I started my journey in Digital Marketing at York University full of ambition to dive into the digital world. What grabbed my attention about the Digital & Content Marketing course is how proficient the syllabus is, and the diversity of professors with wide experience in their field and the campus life. Coming to the reality, as sad as I am that this journey is almost coming to an end within a month now, this has taught me some very valuable life lessons that I will cherish for my lifetime.
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When it comes to the course and the University, I have witnessed both positive and negative aspects. However, if you are considering Digital Marketing at York University, here are some reasons why you should give it a thumbs-up:
Personally, in my educational journey till now, I have not seen such intense and extensive subjects related to Digital Marketing such as Fundamentals of digital marketing, Business in digital age, Planning and analysis for content creation, Search engine and social media, User engagement and marketing, Content promotion and amplification. Until this stage, I have been figuring it out myself or learning through various online courses, certifications, or even YouTube. The subjects learned in this course have given me detailed knowledge on topics like brand research, content strategy, content writing, and social media. The learning through this course is helping me to upskill my creative thinking. For example, being a Social Media Manager in India gave me hands-on experience in Social strategy but with the help of this course, I have better creative abilities while using different social media tools, and better content creation skills, which can help me perform effectively after bagging a job in the Canadian marketing industry.
Digital marketing is something that cannot be learned theoretically and learning this at York U was the best option as the majority of the focus here is on practical learning through assignments and in-class projects. Throughout the course, we created videos, reels, and podcasts for assignments on brands and for York University's Instagram page created by the students, this content can be used in our portfolio while applying for interviews to showcase the work done here. The best or my favourite to mention would be making of the podcast for the content creation class. As someone who had never made a podcast before, I got a chance to interview a dog trainer for a pet treat brand. It was a fun experience to work on and most importantly I was confident about the work I was able to execute. As someone who had no idea about SEO, I had the opportunity to analyse websites and provide recommendations for the same. It was a great chance to learn a new topic.
Being an ambivert it is always skeptical for me to make new friends or talk to people at first but now the tables have turned and how! As I have made so many friends in my class, it's surely going to make me cherish memories for a lifetime. All of the assignments and in-class activities have helped us bond really well. Not just that, coffee from Tim Hortons during the break during every class is a must-do activity for us. Gossip sessions not to say but are definitely entertaining, hanging out around the campus, and doing weekly grocery runs are all a part of my core memory that I will carry with me in the future.
Something I have been truly grateful about my whole journey is the experienced professors like Leigh Mitchell, Tim Campbell-Smith, Rahim Katchi, Dorris Montarena, Melyssa Cummings Lipsey, who have immense expertise in their teaching and professional journey. It’s true that every professor has a different way of teaching but the best part is the interactive way of learning and to involve students in the process of learning rather than just making it theoretical. Brainstorming sessions have by far been the most favourite of mine in the Content Creation class where solutions for different scenarios lead to incredible ideas that help in thinking creatively and out of the box. Professors here are always happy to help whether it be anything related to studies or helping someone dealing with anything in their life by providing resources. All of the professors are happy to add students to their LinkedIn profiles which helps in making new connections with real-life industry professionals.
It’s a privilege for students at York University that all of the professors are keen on inviting industry professionals for guest lectures to provide their expertise and insights. We have had many guest lecturers till now and it has helped us students to have expert viewpoints to develop several skills. One of the many guest lecturers was Luki Danukarjanto was personally the best, who gave us knowledge about the importance of having a good LinkedIn profile, tips to improve profiles to be seen by hiring managers along with how engagement like commenting, sharing other people’s content brings better visibility to your own LinkedIn profile.
As a kid it has always fascinated me when I saw college life in the movies and for the first two months after joining York University, I never really explored the campus at York University a lot but to my surprise, it is so huge and beautiful. There are many buildings on the campus for different courses. All of them have gigantic glass windows which give them a modern look filled with enormous classrooms. The campus also allows us to book our own break-out room to work on projects. York Lanes was like a hidden gem while exploring the campus. Coming to the best part, for all the food lovers, there are so many options to snack on, like Burger King, Chipotle, Osmow's Shawarma, M2GO, Subway, Cucina Italian Cafe, and many more, I was amazed and how! The campus also has an equipped gym which makes it easy to utilise it without spending a lot from your pocket as a student but with minimal fees, although it is located far from the campus. Talking about the location, it is so spot on as the buildings are just right around the corner and five minutes away from York station making it easy for all the students to travel.
As fun as it sounds, it actually is true that the course does not have any exams. What a fun place to be in! Although no exam does not mean that it is any lenient, it is a lot of practical learning through assignments and in-class work which includes hectic schedules for submissions but it helps to build a strong portfolio worthy of landing a job in this competitive market.
After the checklist on considering why to go for this course, it's also important to know the drawbacks it has, and here’s what should also be considered while choosing a course that costs you a fortune:
As an international student who is only allowed to work for 20 hours, it gives me some extra time to explore the campus. Although apart from hanging out with friends after classes and exploring food places around campus, there isn't a lot to do for students. It would be a lot of fun to have different clubs of interest to join and do a few activities. Another addition could be a few events as Toronto in summer has a lot of events happening for different occasions and days, this would help students to engage and develop hobbies and interests with the help of clubs.
Just as fun as it sounds that no exams mean all the fun, I wish I could agree to it but no, that’s not quite the case! No exam means a lot of assignments and it develops a lot of unrequired pressure to cope up with. Assignments worth fifty or sixty percent just for one individual assignment bring a lot of pressure to be a perfectionist which is troublesome when dealing with it all individually. While juggling work, assignments, and personal life it is difficult to maintain good mental health. However dealing with pressure is not everyone’s best suit, it is quite important to not create unnecessary pressure by distributing assignments in smaller grading percentages. Surely grades are important but not at the cost of hampering mental wellbeing.
Technology plays a vital role in a student's life and since covid, the world has been fast revolving around technology. However, York University faces a lot of technological issues when it comes to Wifi and connectivity. For example, one of the guest lecturers, Luki Danukarjanto, had a technology issue and was not able to connect his presentation. Another incident where one of the graded group presentations was made online to avoid technological issues faced in class. Personally, even when being in the class, I face issues connecting the Wifi a lot of times. Several students and teachers face issues using technology due to its weak connection and that is something that can be made better for easy student and faculty experience.
It is important to trust the process, handling pressure is not for the weak. It surely feels overwhelming but it’s crucial to believe in yourself and be consistent with your efforts to work hard towards your goals.
The professional industry in Canada is all about networking, hence it is important to keep in touch with your friends and professors to build a strong network of connections. You never know if a friend or professor could help you to land your dream job right?
As survival is an integral part of being an International student, in today’s age, mental health should be everyone's top priority. Ensure to follow best practices to maintain your mental as well as physical health.
As a Digital Marketing student, treat your assignments as they could be a part of your portfolio to showcase practical work done, trust me- your career will thank you!
As hard as it is to accept, the reality is that my journey as a student is coming to an end. It was not easy but a worthwhile experience to be able to be independent and live life by myself and I wouldn’t swap this experience for anything else. This journey has only made me stronger, ambitious, and confident to step into the real world. York University gave me a chance to turn my dreams into reality by providing me with an ideal University experience. To the class of 2024, we are almost there. Here’s to embracing life, making new memories, acing goals while making a lasting impression, and last but not the least achieving your dream job!