Career Blog
- Details
It’s almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented to you.
No – it’s not only just presented to you: you are actually encouraged to take it.
The opportunity to experience new countries, new cities, new people, new everything.
And it’s handed to you on a silver plate by the University of Ottawa.
The International Exchange Program may sound daunting but the opportunity to go abroad for one semester (or more) during the school year is something that most students may not have the time to do after graduating. Or ever. Sure, there’ll be potential vacations and travelling in the future but the sense of being independent and living alone in a foreign country among places and people that you’ve only ever seen on screen or paper or heard about is uniquely different. This is perhaps the only time in your life when you will experience such a mixture of wonderment and exploration.
The great thing about this, is that this is not a luxury, nor selfish. The University of Ottawa encourages students to participate in the program, to experience what others have called “a life-changing period” in their lives.
That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
The opportunity peer out the window every morning to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower.
The wonderment of watching the sunset in the late hours of Budapest.
The joy of going for your daily run in the bustling streets of Milan.
The amazement at the architecture in Amsterdam.
The excitement discovering the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
The breeze in your hair while biking in New Zealand.
The smile on your face as you take your first bite of a Belgium waffle.
That is the beauty of an international exchange.
- Details
Charlie is a 3rd‑year student at the Telfer School of Management currently studying in Glasgow for the semester. When asked about her experience moving abroad and representing Telfer in Scotland, she replied, “The Telfer International Exchange Program has given me the opportunity to improve my global skills and experience another culture!”
“I am beyond thankful for all of the opportunities I have had since starting at Telfer. Between the Co-op Program, uOglobal, studying abroad, and joining clubs like Enactus, my university experience has been very busy and extremely rewarding. Although I am currently still settling in the university abroad, I have already had many opportunities to learn and expand my network across the ocean. My roommate here in Glasgow is always quick to make sure I am speaking the proper Scottish slang. You wear “trousers” and “tops”, not pants and shirts, you walk on a “pavement”, not a sidewalk, you drink “fizzy drinks”, not pop, and you live in a “flat”, not an apartment.
Despite being away from Ottawa, I am still finding my place and being welcomed by the locals as if I have always been here! I am already missing my Telfer family, but this experience has motivated me to reach out and join the Enactus team of my host university while abroad. The most exciting part of this adventure (apart from the killer travel opportunities) is the fact that the business courses I am taking abroad are not offered at Telfer. I would urge any Telfer student to embark on a similar journey if they have even the slightest interest in having a cross-cultural learning experience!”
– Charlie Gaudet
3rd year student, International Exchange / Enactus Participant
