Goal 2:

Humber Students Studying and Working Abroad

There has been a significant increase in global opportunities for Humber students over the past several years. Not only has the number of participants increased, but the types of experiences available to students continues to grow. Through these engaging initiatives the following results have been achieved:

• Tripled participation in study abroad and expanded participation to all academic schools.

• Launched the Global Citizenship Certificate providing the impetus to achieve greater participation through achievement of a certificate and the creation of an e-portfolio

• Increasing access to study abroad by ensuring that academic credit can be obtained for overseas study or work

• Increased opportunities for semester, summer and placements abroad through strategic partnership development

• Risk has been mitigated through predeparture training for all students studying abroad and an extensive tracking and approval process

Peru Trip

From May 20-June 1, 11 HRT students from diverse programs participated in a two-week trip to Peru. The itinerary challenged students to complete the four-day Quarry Trek in the world-renowned Andes mountains. Throughout the course of the trek, students walked upward of 60kms and summited to a height of 4550 meters.

Humber College Hikes the Quarry Trek to Machu Picchu!

The trek culminated in the bucket-list site, Machu Picchu, where students marveled at the ancient, holy site built by the Incas hundreds of years ago.

Also included in the trip was a homestay on Amantani, a small island on Lake Titicaca. Here, students spent a night with a local indigenous community where they learned about the culture and lifestyle in this remote community.

The trip was such a resounding success that it will be part of HRT’s study abroad offerings in May of 2018.

Tanzania Trip

10 students from the Addictions and Mental Health, Child and Youth Care, Community and Justice Services, Criminology, Police Foundations, and Social Service Worker programs travelled to Moshi, Tanzania for an international placement, and service learning trip. The trip was led by Dr. Rai Reece and Philip Burge from the School of Social and Community Services.

A key aim of the trip was to engage students in a reflective cross-cultural learning experience that tackled issues of personal and situational social location, differential learning, and skills building.

Students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture and engage in work with social service programs in Tanzania. Students worked in primary schools, a women’s educational and economic organization, and a juvenile detention centre.

In addition to daily work responsibilities, students engaged in various cultural activities, such as: Kiswahili lessons, visits and educational talks about the Tanzanian healthcare and justice system, and also primary and secondary school visits.

During evening reflections, students commented on the importance of opening their minds and hearts to new and challenging experiences.

Denmark Summer School

In July 2017 Humber students joined an exclusive summer school at VIA University College titled “Fashion Shoot: Nordic Noir”. Students gained experience in fashion photography and film production, each completing a Nordic Noir-styled fashion shoot, supported by Danish film and fashion professionals.

Student Testimonial

Student name: Estelle C. Zentil, Bachelor of Commerce: Fashion Management

Why did you decide to study abroad?
I believe that travelling is the university of life and some things cannot be taught in the classroom.

What are you learning about yourself?
In general, travelling allows an individual to become more open-minded. Studying abroad has allowed me to reflect on the similarities and differences across cultures and individuals. I have become a more independent, empathetic, and openminded individual.

Why should other Humber students study abroad?
Students should take advantage of every opportunity that Humber offers when it comes to international relations between institutions. There is no better time to travel than whilst in school and developing into a young adult.

HRT Trip to Nunavut

For Humber students Nadine Asmis and Andrew Wilson, travelling to Arviat, Nunavut with the School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism (HRT) was a life-changing experience. "You don’t see many service-learning trips in your own country, so I knew that this trip would be special,” Asmis, a second-year Fitness & Health Promotion student, said. “I thought to myself, ‘how is it that I know so little about such a big and important part of our country?’ I saw this as an opportunity to learn about Inuit culture.”

From May 4th to 14th, students sat in on meetings with various community organizations, learned about ice fishing and hunting, taught cooking and nutrition classes, and helped plan sports activities for students in the community. Arviat, located about 200 kilometres north of Churchill, Manitoba, has a population of approximately 2,800.

The trip was HRT's first service-learning trip in Canada. The trip, suggested by a student, took two years to plan. Six students participated in 180 hours of volunteer projects over five days, based on their areas of interest, including:

• Through the Jays Care Foundation, students became Jays Care play ball coaches to 200 students at Qitiqliq Middle School. This was the first time Jays Care baseball was offered in Nunavut. As a result of this trip, a Sport Management student got a full-time job with Jays Care.

• A nutrition/cooking workshop at the Youth Centre.

• Twelve dance, music and gym sessions.

• Three high school music workshops.

Two Recreation and Leisure Service students are currently interning with the Hamlet of Arviat Recreation Department, and one of them has accepted a full-time position there.

“This trip helped give me confidence because I was involved in planning different activities and that is so valuable. I got real-world experience,” said Wilson, who is in his first year of the sport management program.

A few of Asmis’ favourite moments of the trip include going out on the land with a group of middle school students, and sitting in on meetings with high school graduates and others in the community.

Story from abroad: Rochelle Asuncion, Bachelor of Journalism

My summer studying abroad at Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand was more than an opportunity to earn academic credits: It transformed my life.

In June 2017 I travelled with eight other Humber students to Dunedin, NZ. Learning took place every day, in every experience. We spent the first days of class at Otago Polytechnic’s main campus, where we studied theories that we later applied outdoors.

In “Understanding Bi-Culturalism,” we learned about the Iwi Maori culture from Ron Bull, an instructor of indigenous descent. Most academic content revolved around the Iwi Maori’s history with the Crown, which was relatable and similar to Canadian history. The course also taught us the importance of sovereignty, land ownership, and citizenship between the Iwi Maori and the government. We stayed overnight at a Marae, a Polynesian enclosure, where we continued to practice and learn about Maori culture. The hospitality was immense, and we deepened our intercultural awareness and understanding.

In “Environmental Sustainability,” we were assigned to create an environmental plan that we could apply to our daily lives back in Canada. Sarah, our instructor, planned many outdoor activities, such as sea kayaking, camping overnight at an organic farm, and hiking through an ecosanctuary. Not only were we learning about our environment, surroundings and what we consume, we also enjoyed the outdoor activities and team-building exercises that helped each individual to become more resilient. I learned that it’s good to live life in conflict. To be conflicted about your daily decisions due to being more environmentally aware is a start to your journey to live a sustainable life, which is one of the biggest issues facing the modern world.

I’m proud to be a Humber globetrotter who has happily explored and studied in New Zealand.

Study Abroad - Otago Polytechnic Program, New Zealand

Health Science – Guatemala Trip

During reading week in 2017 an inter-professional group of doctors, and members of Humber’s team in Guatemala, conducted health assessments and provided care to almost 375 children living in underresourced communities in Guatemala, both in rural and urban communities.

Humber nursing professor Frankie BurgFeret said "this is a unique opportunity for our Humber students to immerse themselves in another culture, as well as to learn about health care in a developing country, and to work collaboratively on an inter-professional team”

While medical assessments and health education were the focus of the trip, it was only part of what the Humber students experienced.

Humber Health Sciences in Guatemala 2017

ECE Internship at Lillebaelt University College

My name is Ranjit Saini, and I have just completed my diploma in Early Childhood Education at Humber College. During May/June 2017, I had the opportunity to complete my internship in Odense, Denmark and I never thought I would ever take on such an adventure. This internship has been the best thing that has happened to me because it helped me gain confidence and strength. In my first year of this program, my marks were average, and I had the typical mindset of just finishing school so that I could start working. In the summer of 2016, I made the greatest decision of applying at the Humber Arboretum summer camp and that led me to the opportunity of doing my internship outside of Ontario. Realizing I have a new love for children in the outdoors, I met two other wonderful students that had a similar vision (Natalie Rancourt and Victoria Mortimer). They made me realize how important it was to take every opportunity that I come across and use it to learn from. With this mindset, I began preparing my application. I went from thinking, “Why would they choose me” to “Why wouldn’t they choose me.” With all this positive boost from the summer camp, friends, and staff, I told my mom I was going to Denmark! The life/ work/personal skills developed from this trip, make you a better person and I think everyone wants to be their best. While in Denmark, we did a video call that also included Rebecca Fitzgerald, Manager of International Mobility and Partnerships at Humber. Rebecca asked, “Why should other Humber students study/work abroad?” When she did, I had the biggest smile on my face and thought, “because they deserve to.” In my opinion, many students feel like they do not have what it takes to be part of such a movement or that they have other responsibilities. These are all valid reasons, because I used to tell myself the same thing but it holds us back! Other students should apply and take on this adventure because it will change the way they look at life. This internship does put you to the test and it will do so in the most random moments of your travel. The important thing to know is that there are others that support you: staff/faculty and Humber, too.

The best way to express what I learned is this: imagine a baby that just came in to this world. You might think this is funny and I do too because of how silly it sounds. But it is true, I have experienced so many new things for the first time that I do not know what I would have done had I not gone on this internship. If there is one thing that I have learned about myself, it is that I cannot walk away without trying. I will not know until I apply, until I say yes, until I step out of my comfort zone.

To be honest, I could probably write 1,000 books and still have something to talk about from this internship, but for now I will put some things in bullet form. It was my first time

• travelling alone,
• being on a small boat,
• swimming in an ocean,
• and much, much more!

“It was really hard, but so worth it. The views and the camaraderie among the team was just incredible.”

Riley Paul, Tourism Management Student

“We were so pleased by how this trip went. It truly challenged the students and opened their eyes to a place that they would have otherwise not seen.”

Kevin Smith, Organizer and Program Coordinator, Tourism Management

“They drove us about 40 minutes out onto the ice and snow, and we were given the opportunity to experience first-hand Inuit traditions. We saw herds of caribou and learned about hunting. The younger kids lent us their fishing jigs and taught us how to ice fish – I didn’t catch anything. We were also given the opportunity to eat caribou meat, both raw and cooked. The entire experience was absolutely amazing. The best part, though, was when we first arrived at the cabin. In every direction that I looked, all (I saw was) ice and snow – and luckily for us, caribou. It was so calm and peaceful.”

Nadine Asmis, Humber student

“The value of this program really helps to enrich our overall understanding of indigenous issues in a contemporary world. Indigenous relations in New Zealand are really way ahead of other countries... So having this sort of engagement really helps to enrich the student experience.”

Shelley Charles, Elder, Advisor on Aboriginal Relations, Student Success and Engagement

“When you are working together from a different health profession, you get to learn about their scope of practice, and in the end, you all work as one unit.”

Mandeep Kaur – Humber Bachelor of Nursing Student

“This trip has allowed me to learn about inter-professional collaboration. Before this international health service trip, my definition of inter-professional collaboration would be the health care team members (i.e. nurse, doctor, pharmacist, dietitian etc.) involved with the client’s care working together. Being part of this unique inter-professional team, I was able to understand the true value of effective collaboration and how it impacts the quality of client care. True inter-professional collaboration is about working with each other and that involves not only health professionals but other professions involved in patient care (i.e. translators, priests, nuns, community leaders) towards a common purpose of helping the client.”

Rinna Del Rosario