They are only two of the many international students that attend or have graduated from NIC over the years.
At present, there are 768 international students from 46 countries at NIC campuses. This year, they represent 13 per cent of enrolment.
“At North Island College, we are passionate about our international student program,” said Mark Herringer, Executive Director of NIC’s Office of Global Engagement (OGE). “I think it is important that our communities understand we take it very seriously, and we strive to deliver the most sustainable and effective program we can.”
Kartik Goel graduated from the Culinary Business Operations Diploma program last spring and now works in the cafeteria at NIC’s Campbell River campus.
Originally from India, Kartik Goel began taking the Culinary Business Operations Diploma program in March 2021 and graduated last April.
He describes himself as having been “keen for cooking” for some time. He learned much from his mother and grandmother, which came in handy when he was on the road in India as a rifle-shooting competitor and had to cook for himself. Eventually, he started thinking about exploring food as his career.
He also began thinking about exploring the world and was looking online for international education opportunities when he came across Chef Xavier Bauby from NIC.
“I’d been searching a lot for colleges,” Goel said. “His video fascinated me.”
Goel had studied cooking in India but through the NIC program, he has been able to integrate the theoretical with the practical and credits how supportive Chef Bauby has been with students. He started working in the cafeteria in Campbell River during his last semester and now works there full-time. Ideally, he would like to open his own restaurant someday but really enjoys working with the cafeteria team.
He finds some kitchen projects like baking are not his favourites, but he is broadening his repertoire. At work, he might make a batch of chili or serve up the Indian food he knows so well.
“The best feedback for me is to create a smile on the customer’s face,” he said. “They love what I cook.”
Eduardo Mendez, his wife Wendy and his two daughters, Micaela and Natalia, moved here from Peru in 2022, so he could study in NIC’s Global Business Management program.
As for Eduardo Mendez, he came to Vancouver Island for the Global Business Management program after graduating in his home country of Peru. He and his wife Wendy brought their two daughters, Micaela and Natalia, here in 2022, wanting to move for several reasons, including economic opportunities and political stability.
They considered other parts of the world such as Europe and the U.S., but Mendez opted for a study visa in this country. “We said, ‘Why not Canada?’ Canada offers great opportunities,” he said.
They wanted a smaller community and ended up on Vancouver Island. They appreciate how friendly people have been and how students are so conscious about their environment and community.
Mendez said his daughters had to adjust to the new language at first, but now they help translate between English and Spanish when the grandparents come to Campbell River to visit the family.
Through NIC, he completed an internship with the OGE, which supports the college in meeting its internationalization goals. This included supporting OGE efforts to develop resources on country-specific information for study abroad, challenges, trends and best practices for both pre-departure preparation and post-arrival reintegration support for student mobility.
“Even now, I give support to OGE as an international peer connector,” Mendez said.
Through this, he helps coordinate orientation and community-building events for international students as they arrive in Canada and become familiar with a new culture. Such opportunities also strengthen confidence and connections with the local community. Like Goel, Mendez is looking forward to a future in Canada and will be applying for permanent residency.
“The plan is to try and get a job here in the community,” he said. “We love the Island.”
Goel and Mendez represent only two of the hundreds of international students attending NIC in a range of programs each year, and many also gain valuable work experience in the communities where they study.
“We are a community college, and we take that part of our work very seriously,” said Herringer. “Our international student program is very much connected to the work we do with the communities we serve, particularly in Campbell River, Port Alberni and the Comox Valley.”
NIC’s international program has grown in recent years, and its plan, Journeying Together, is NIC’s first Indigenous-serving internationalization plan. It grew from NIC’s Indigenous Education plan, Working Together, which places Indigenous students, employees and their communities at its heart and will shape and guide NIC’s work for years to come.
“We want to be able to reflect Indigenous community interests in how we work internationally and to also ensure our international students understand what indigenization means,” said Herringer.
