As students, we have all seen that one person in class who seems to know the answers to all the questions, is keen to talk in class, plays the professor’s favourite, and always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else. We always envy this student, but we also never take the time to question how they got to where they are, and what keeps them motivated. In my home country, Nigeria, kids are brought up in a rigid structure where the notion of studying hard is engrained in them at a young age.
My first week as an international student at Simon Fraser University (SFU) was an eye opener for me; I was amazed by how hard working and engaged some students were. This made me realize that all the preparation that I’ve had back home counts for nothing if I don’t continue to work hard here. I felt intimidated at how some students, especially domestic ones, participated so much in class. I was lagging behind in my writing classes because we used the British curriculum in Nigeria, which is vastly different from the North American curriculum. My math skills weren’t up to par either because I already had a hard time keeping up in high school. In a nutshell, my first week was difficult and overwhelming.
These are things that have affected my foundations here in university and they are the mistakes that I wouldn’t want any new international students to experience upon arriving here. I have some tips that are relevant to universities across Canada and I would like to share them here because I think they will be beneficial to others.
1) Pay attention to every detail: We have easy access to resources that inform us about the news, but we often choose to ignore them. Newspapers, media, and social media are resources we can use to learn more about our surroundings. This knowledge in current events becomes useful, especially in some classes where topics like communications and politics are discussed. This knowledge will also help students participate in class by helping them come up with challenging topics during discussion, leaving the professor with a good impression.
2) Attend writing workshops: This is a good way to adapt into the North American writing style. As I mentioned earlier, this was a big problem for me when I first started my classes, especially since I am a Health Science student and we write a lot of papers. Later on, I learned about the library workshops and proof reading personnel available to students. Ever since I started using these resources, not only have my writing skills improved, I’ve also learned how to do research for bigger scale projects.
3) Attend math workshops: I have always dreaded doing calculations simply because I just can’t grasp the concepts. Quantitative classes are required in university, making math classes impossible to avoid. I failed my first Statistics class during my first year, mostly because I did not take advantage of the workshops available for students. Later, I retook the class and eased my way through it, thanks to the math labs available on campus.
4) Build relationships: Building relationships with professors is a good way to stay connected, especially if the relationship can progress over time and the professor can become a reference for other purposes, like getting into a Master’s program. Building strong relationships amongst your peers in class is also another factor to doing well in school. Personally, I found that it’s easiest to make friends in first year because the majority of the other students are new to the school as well. Since everyone is new, and no cliques have formed yet, it becomes easier to meet new friends and form new relationships. I have made many friends since being at SFU, which has been really helpful because we get to study together and help each other during exam periods. A memorable time for me was when I initiated a study group for one of my classes, which resulted in everyone doing well. While making friends can be difficult in the beginning, don’t be shy; try your best to make friends because these new friendships will be irreplaceable.
These are just a couple of tips that I wanted to share, not only as guidance, but also as encouragement. Everyone can be that keen student in class, and everyone can thrive academically and socially, you just have to try.