Canadian Connection

Paavani Putta

IBDP XII

On November 23^rd, 2010, OIS hosted one of many periodic college sessions geared towards notifying the 11^th & 12^th grade students of college options available to them both in India and abroad. On this particular day, a university with a strong history with Oakridge obliged us with a sterling presentation about their students, faculty, and resources. This college was University of British Columbia, UBC for short, located in Canada. UBC and OIS go way back, this year representing the 3^rd annual autumn visit by UBC to Oakridge on their Asian tour. Four Oakridge alumni currently reside & study at UBC.

UBC consistently capture a ranking in the top 30 (1%) universities in the world, with 99% of the professors being PhD holders, a solid academic focus outlines the UBC vision. The beautiful Canadian scenery provides an abode of snow-covered mountains, sun-kissed beaches, and avenues to hiking. Vancouver has been crowned for several years as the “#1 city to live in” on the entire globe, an important fact considering 50,000 students are currently enrolled at UBC.

As someone who attended the session both in 2009 and 2010, I’m proud to say the proceedings were as informative and interesting as ever. The UBC slogan “Connections for Life” offers a portal of communication for prospective students through the official admissions website, www.connectionsforlife.ubc.ca. The website contains tips to understanding the application process, live student blogs for reading, and videos to reflect the ambience of UBC. Just as Oakridge provides a diverse range of curricula, UBC’s collegiate structure follows a pattern of field-oriented programs and interdisciplinary studies. Spread out over the 2 campuses in Vancouver and Okanaga, schools in UBc include: Architecture, Arts & Fine Arts, Business & Management, Engineering, Health & Human Kinetics, and Science.

Oakridge students enjoyed the guest lecture enormously, understanding in an in-depth manner one of the foreign universities, which many are the right place for some of our students. We thank UBC for taking the time and effort to speak at our school, guiding us a little bit closer to learning the treasure within.