King's international student bids farewell to King's after a great semester
December 23, 2016
From the University of Notre Dame in Australia on the Fremantle Campus, Esther Power, is all smiles when describing her experience as an international student at King’s. In her third year, Power studied a range of Political Science and Social Justice and Peace Studies courses at King’s in her semester abroad. The University of Notre Dame is one of King’s international university partners.
Despite living in a new environment, Power had a smooth transition to living and studying at King’s. “As an exchange student, King’s is the best because it’s it has created a community. We’re encouraged to get involved in things. The first two weeks of programs, the International Bridging Week and Orientation Week, were instrumental. Because it is a smaller university it is easier to make friends and I was just very lucky. It was like having a family away from home.”
Power describes how her studies at King’s helped broaden her career perspectives. “I also do a double degree in law back home. I really like studying here in the sense that I now have a much wider grounding in politics for my law degree. I never thought about going into politics before coming to King’s, and it’s nice to have that different route. I found that a lot of my friends and peers are passionate about politics and social justice. We have really great discussions and debates and arguments,” says Power.
Power shares that one of the differences from her Australian university to King’s is the class instruction style. “I love how the classes at King’s are run like seminars. Everyone is expected to be prepared. I felt that was a really good way of understanding the material, and I liked my classes. I was lucky, I could pick pretty much what I wanted pertaining to my degree.”
During her time at King’s, Power made the most of her international experience by getting involved in the King’s community and events. Power joined the political science club, the SJPS club, the King’s flag football team, chamber choir, and the discussion nights held by Campus Ministry. Additionally, Power took advantage of the extracurricular services and events at King’s offered by residence assistants, bridging officer, the trip to Niagara Falls held by King’s International, the KAMP team (King’s Academic Peer Mentors) , and the international peer guide program.
The Canadian winter experience was one thing Power had to learn to get used to, “My roommate has kept me from freezing to death. Like telling me to never go outside with wet hair because I’ll freeze. Small things that I never thought about,” she laughs.
When reminiscing about her experience at King’s, Power says, “to be honest I’ve just had a great experience. It has been really good, it is funny how time flies. I can’t believe my whole semester has gone by. So, it’s been really fantastic, and I definitely would recommend it. Everything has gone very well. Kudos to King’s!”
Since her semester at King’s is now over, Power plans to travel across Canada and the United States with her roommate she met in the Wemple Residence. King’s bids you safe travels, and the best of luck on your future endeavours!
To learn more about King’s international, and going on an exchange click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/current-students/student-affairs/kings-international/
To learn more about the Political Science program at King’s, click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/academics/politics-international-relations/
To learn more about Social Justice and Peace Studies program at King’s, click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/academics/social-justice-and-peace-studies/
To learn more about King’s Chamber Choir click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/kuccc/
To learn more about King’s Campus Ministry click here: http://www.kings.uwo.ca/campus-ministry/
To learn more about the University of Notre Dame, click here: http://www.nd.edu.au/