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On the road
The University of Guelph-Humber's four Liaison Officers are on the road now until early December, visiting 400 high schools in the GTA and beyond. They're connecting with prospective students who will start in 2012, the university's 10th-anniversary year.
Each LO makes presentations at 100 schools. They give high school students comprehensive and current information on the university's programs, its community and campus. They interact with those students, encouraging them to visit the University of Guelph-Humber.
As you can guess, it takes the right kind of person to help students make this big life decision.
It's time to meet these travelling ambassadors.
Dolly Birdi
(Business Administration, 2011)
“I was extremely passionate about the university from day one,” said Dolly. The feeling grew from her first visit to the University of Guelph-Humber’s Toronto campus. “I absolutely fell in love with GH.” Why? The small class sizes. Dolly talks to students – in Brampton, Waterloo, Niagara Falls, London, Sarnia and Toronto, among many others – about the importance of choosing the “place that feels like home...where they think they can grow as an individual and really shine.” Talking to next-generation students comes naturally to Dolly. In third year she co-founded a student club called Student Leaders of Tomorrow, which hosted high school students during an on-campus conference, and was a START team member.
Aliyyah Nazeem
(Justice Studies, 2009)
In her second week of classes Aliyyah put up her hand to answer a question posed by the professor. “I was really shocked when he called me by name, not just saying ‘you’ or pointing at me,” she recalled. Stories like that, said Aliyyah, give students a more “genuine” feel for the University of Guelph-Humber. “If you want a more personal way of learning, where your professors know your name, and your classmates’, then you know our school is the place to be,” she tells students in Kitchener, Burlington and Cambridge, to name a few.
Usha Rajpal
(Business Administration, 2011)
Put simply, Usha encourages the students she visits to “get involved. You never know where an experience can take you.” In her fourth year, she became a senior START leader and worked as part of the University of Guelph-Humber’s team at Ontario Universities Fair. (This year OUF happens Friday Oct. 14th through Sunday October 16th.) Usha has visited schools in Penetanguishine, Midland and Collingwood, Stayner, Innisfil , Bradford, Tottenham, Barrie and Orillia. Along the way, she’s met great people, students and guidance counsellors alike. Some students have even recognized Usha from the cover of this year’s Viewbook.
Alyssa Gray-Rainford
(Media Studies, 2009)
As a University of Guelph-Humber student, she played varsity volleyball for Humber College. Gray-Rainford managed the men’s team and worked for Athletics all her four years. “Sports give me an automatic ‘in’ with a lot of students,” she said. Gray-Rainford knows how to connect with students with diverse backgrounds and interests. She attended an arts high school and graduated with a regional arts diploma in Vocal Music. “So I attract the Gleeks too,” she said referring to the massive hit show, Glee. Sticking mostly to western Ontario, Gray-Rainford just finished a visit to Stratford. She advises students to enjoy this time in their lives, to take time to decide what they want to do, where they want to go. “Go somewhere you feel comfortable,” she said. “Pick a program you absolutely love.” Gray-Rainford found her comfort zone at University of Guelph-Humber. In her third year of work as an LO, helping prospective students make that same discovery.
For information on high school liaison visits this fall, contact Hilton Lieu, Liaison Coordinator, 416-798-1331, ext. 6309, hilton.lieu@guelphhumber.ca.
Sean Flinn, Web Communications Specialist, 416-798-1331, ext. 6299, sean.flinn@guelphhumber.ca