Oh boy, where do I even begin? My experience as an international student in York has been a wild ride!
Hello there, I am Bindiya Ghimire, but does everyone know me by that name? Rarely I would say. So again, hello there, I am Binu. I am from Nepal. My Canadian journey started on Dec 18th, 2022, while I started my academic journey in Canada in January from Centennial College where I studied Marketing- Corporate Account Management as my 1st course. Was I from a Marketing background? Nope! I studied marketing, where I learned sales, negotiation, marketing management, digital marketing, CRM, and accounting management. This is where I got to know how interesting and vast marketing is, and I wanted to learn more. This is where I started to get interested in Digital marketing, which led me to choose Content and digital marketing as my next course at York University.
I had only heard about York through people about how big it is, how much area it has, and how it has its station, but I had never been to York. I think there are rarely any students who haven’t been lost here on his/her 1st day in York. Of course, I did too, and not to mention I was late to class for 20 minutes as I didn’t come to orientation class so I didn’t know the school of continuing building. So, starting a new course, new college, new friends. I would say that it didn’t feel like that. I felt York welcomed me warmly. I was intrigued by the large buildings and our class with those big windows. The classes were beautifully designed and there were separate study rooms for groups who wanted to do their group work. I can find new coffee shops, restaurants, and places every time we explore York. Seneca building was our go-to place as they had something going on always. We would usually go and lose track of time and would be late to class. I wish York had too liked some activities so that students could engage more in those activities.
Digital marketing was new, interesting, and different from corporate account management. Every course was varied meeting the needs of students with diverse interests and career goals.
We had to develop a product and make a marketing plan budgeting product launching plan and brand positioning in real case scenarios where I learned how to conduct comprehensive market research and identify the unmet needs, develop the marketing plan incorporating marketing mix as a team which was helpful for professional growth. Dorris was very good but too critical, I felt it was hard to keep up with the course as we had to be as perfect as we could on our assignment to get good grades.
She was a great professor, I got to learn details about content creation which I had no idea about earlier on. I think this was the most stressful subject for me among all the subjects. Marketing for search engines was the most interesting subject for me. Rahim was so cooperative with everyone. We were given class activities based on what we learned, and the assignment helped me understand the intricacies of SEO SEM, and data analytics, enabling them to craft data-driven marketing strategies. Every professor was an inspiring and vibrant blend of industry professionals. I think this played a key role in fostering an environment for students for advanced learning and intellectual growth.
Every classmate of mine had different work experience some were new to this field while some had some years of experience in the Marketing field, or any other management field. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel insecure, which I did most of the time. As they had experience in the real workplace while working on certain assignments like product launching or budgeting, they knew how to do it properly. They had a little better knowledge about customer segmenting and data statistics, but working on projects with them made me feel like we all have our own strong and weak points and when working as a team on any project everyone balances out each other. We can learn from everyone even if one doesn’t have any experience.
If I were to advise future students to embrace what they have, focus on time management, and go for it. As an international student, I can understand how hard it is to leave everything behind and start everything. Our day clock runs between school assignments, part-time jobs, and field-related applications. Despite the challenges, our determination remains unwavering. We often lose hope and tell ourselves that this is just the beginning and that every step brings us closer to our goals. Try to embrace what you have, try to engage more in college activities, ask questions, try to learn from your classmate's experience not only the professor, and grow your network as much as you can. There are so many certificates you can take through course or outside of the course try to take time between your jobs and manage time for schoolwork and yourself. Try to learn and take away as much as you can through guest lectures. Go beyond your comfort zone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and don’t feel shy to ask too many times.
Overall, it was a great experience and very helpful to my personal development. Through this experience, I have learned the importance of time management and how a proper schedule and routine will help you manage work, college, and your own time. The Apple calendar and notebook have been so helpful in this process. Take advice and criticism from others with an open mind. Because of such a friendly and cooperative professor, I was able to express myself more, even though I was such an introverted person. Having faith in yourself is the only thing that will protect you from judgment. Every person has something to teach us, and we can learn from each other's experiences, so we should get out more, be social, and expand our social circle. This will get you somewhere and this is how you will be able to widen your knowledge of the world. By doing this you can make the most of your time at York University.