International bienvenue
It was a night of meeting new people, new community, and new opportunities.
Concordia's annual International Students Reception on Sept. 16 welcomed 140 recently arrived graduate and undergraduate students from 36 countries to Concordia and Montreal. The reception was also attended by 77 staff and faculty members, consular representatives from South Korea, the Netherlands, Mexico and China, as well as Canadian federal and provincial government officials.
In her opening speech at Le Nouvel Hotel, President Judith Woodsworth greeted attendees in a number of different languages, following up by saying, “In whatever language, I want to say how happy I am to see you. This diversity in our student population and in our professors and staff is something we celebrate all the time.”
“It creates a very dynamic experience on campus, it creates a great intellectual experience for students, it creates a great neighbourhood. And if you’ve had a moment to get used to our neighbourhood, you’ll know that you can eat food from just about any country.”
At the reception, students were served food with a homegrown flavour. Among the hors d’oeuvres were bagels with smoked salmon, an assortment of Quebec cheeses, tourtières, smoked meat, and bite-sized servings of poutine.
“They’ll be experiencing so many different sides to our city in the months ahead. This was a way to introduce a part of our culture and give them a taste of things to come,” said Alexandra McIntosh from the Office of the President.
“I find Montreal to be a very diverse place, and I think Concordia represents that in a way,” said Gabriel Velasquez, a Peruvian studying at the John Molson School of Business. “I think my stay here for the next two years is going to be amazing.”
Listen to the voices of our newest international students:
Download this podcast (<--Right click and "Save Link As").