James Conybeare – Film & Media – Level 3
Brock University, Canada
I undertook the second half of my third year studying film & media in Canada, at Brock University! My flat mate had mentioned the study abroad scheme at QMU and was super keen, which urged me to apply. I’m very glad I took the time to go through the application process as I believe this exchange was extremely worthwhile. It’s obviously very daunting to travel to the other side of the world for a few months alone and feel like you have to start again. Luckily, I had one of my course mates with me for the journey, and while I was in Canada, which made making new friends a lot easier. I would say this experience was very valuable as I was pushed out of my comfort zone and forced to adjust to an unfamiliar environment. I was lucky enough to be granted £5,000 from the Santander Mobility Fund which paid for my accommodation and other expenses included in Brock University’s education scheme. I would highly recommend applying for this funding as it saves you a lot!
The campus at Brock was very different to Queen Margaret and I felt like I was in High School Musical at times! There are many sections to the school, so make sure you know where you're going before classes start. Brock is located in St Catharine's which is very near Niagara Falls. The local town has coffee shops, some nice restaurants and a couple of bars and clubs which don't offer too much excitement. (If you think Edinburgh nightlife is bad, just wait till you get to St Catharine's...) You can’t really get anywhere without getting the bus unfortunately, and this was one of my least favourite parts of the town. I stayed in the most common accommodation which had one of the food halls in the building. The flat I was in could fit up to 12 people, and had 2 communal bathrooms, although all the bedrooms weren’t taken up in mine. This suited me nicely as it meant I was close to the university building and the dining hall. My accommodation didn’t have a kitchen, so a food plan was required, although I believe this was one of the highlights of the exchange as eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with your friends is very enjoyable.
In the beginning the university held a few events to help international students make friends, these are essential to go to as I found not many people in my classes seemed to engage with one another or attempt to make new friends. There are a few Brock sports events such as ice hockey and basketball which the university promote and sell tickets for in the local sports centre in town. I tried to join the Track team while there, although North America takes sport very seriously and only has competitive teams meaning they only hold try outs in September, which meant I couldn’t partake.
We had our flights booked for the 3rd of January, arrived on the 4th, and started classes immediately on the 5th, so prepare to get thrown straight into the workload. I took four classes while at Brock, as this met the required number of credits I needed to progress onto 4th year. Each class had a fairly heavy workload weekly, and around five assignments which included; presentations, essays, midterm tests, and exams which made up your final grade for the class. Initially this was a big shock, but with the local town not offering too much it keeps you busy.
You can expect to mostly be doing work all through the week and can allow yourself a rest on the weekends. Seminar participation is also mandatory and goes towards your final mark in a class. This was very frightening at first as I dislike public speaking, although as the classes went on, I found it boosted my confidence and made me understand the work better. Additionally, having to do written exams again for the first time since I left secondary school was terrifying, although this was very rewarding. Although there was a large increase in the amount of work, I felt extremely productive and efficient after all my assignments were handed in and enjoyed the work I was given.
I will say, if you are looking to earn money by working over in Canada and study at the same time, you will absolutely struggle to keep up with schoolwork, a job, a social life, and anything in between, as I don't know where I would’ve fit in earning an income while over there.
As I was on the other side of the world, I took this opportunity to see as much as I could over there as flights were cheaper. I visited Toronto, New York, and Banff with a lovely group of other international students, which made up the highlight of my experience. If you can afford to, I would highly recommend keeping on top of work to travel as much as possible while there.
I would definitely recommend the study abroad scheme to anyone who is interested in going. Gaining the Santander Mobility Fund helped me remarkably and was one of the main reasons I was able to go. I’ve met lots of lovely people from all over the world and have learned a lot about myself! This experience has been very rewarding and enjoyable regardless of the amount of work we were given in comparison to QMU, and I hope the productive mindset continues into my fourth year!
