Episode 1: So You Want to Travel?
Summary
On today’s episode, we’ll be talking about Centennial’s Global Experience programs that allow students to travel abroad. We will explore the options students have to study during their studies, and discuss how SaGE helps to break down common barriers, such as finances, balancing school and travel, and tackling logistics.
Our episode host, Jocelyn Babudri, will be talking to students, Arnetia Bishop, Monica De Leon, and Taranjeet Singh about their Global Experience.
For a full list of Global Experience programs, please visit: sage.centennialcollege.ca.
Disclaimer
The videos and podcasts were recorded when our campuses were open, prior to March 2020. Centennial College has transitioned to offering academic and co-curricular programs online. We value opportunities to engage with our students to support their learning and professional goals. For all Global experience programs, SaGE will offer Virtual Global Experience programming in the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters until travel advisories have been lifted and the Canadian government has deemed travel for education is safe. Students can still take part in fulfilling opportunities such as studying virtually with one of Centennial’s international exchange partners, participating in an applied research project with a partner in Morocco, or completing a virtual internship with agencies in Costa Rica and China.
Pearl Vas: Welcome to season four of the Centennial College podcast, Through a Global Lens. In this season, the International Education and Services and Global Experience Team, or SaGE, explores topics that affect international students, and internationally-minded students, staff and faculty. Whether you've traveled a long way to study at Centennial, or you're considering traveling abroad, this podcast is for you. Today's host is Jocelyn Babudri.
Jocelyn Babudri: Welcome to Through a Global Lens. I'm your host, Jocelyn Babudri. On today's episode, we're going to be talking about Centennial's Global Experience Programs, which allow our students to travel abroad. The SaGE Team makes travel easy and affordable for our student body. In this podcast we're going to break down some common barriers to traveling, and misconceptions that many of our students have about studying abroad. We are very lucky to have three fantastic Centennial College students on our panel today, and I'm going to let them introduce themselves.
Taranjeet Singh: Hi everybody. My name is Taranjeet Singh. I'm a Business Administration Leadership and Management student. I went for GCELE, which is Global Citizenship Equity and Learning Experience to Cuba and also went to Finland for a short international program.
Arnetia Bishop: Hi everybody. My name is Arnetia Bishop. I also went to Cuba on a Global Citizenship and Equity Learning experience. I went to Japan on a short international program and I went to Scotland on a semester exchange.
Monica De Leon: Hi everyone. I'm Monica and I'm a hospitality and tourism admin student. Like Arnetia, I went to Scotland for a semester exchange program for five months and currently I am participating in the Global Capstone program.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow. So many different places from all over the world. Welcome everyone. Thank you so much for being here. Before we jump in, I just want to give a quick overview of some of the different types of global experience programs that we actually offer at Centennial.
Jocelyn Babudri: The SaGE team offers a variety of options for students to travel abroad during their studies. Our students can work, study, do some research or volunteer abroad and there are programs that run throughout the year in different parts of the world. We have programs that run over Engagement Week. We have some programs that happen over the summer. We have short duration programs that last as long as a week or you can travel, like Monica and Arnetia did for up to four months on a semester exchange program.
Jocelyn Babudri: You'll be hearing a lot of acronyms throughout this episode, but you'll be able to see a detailed description in the episode notes. Just to get started, maybe Arnetia, could you tell us a little bit more about where you went and what you did there?
Arnetia Bishop: For my GCELE, I went to Cuba. We worked in Varadero on a farm. For my short international program or SIP, I went to Japan and we did a culture exchange with the Japanese students there for language culture. For my semester exchange, I went to the university of West Scotland that's located in Paisley and I took one semester of their biomedical program. I'm a biotechnology student, so that was the closest that they had there.
Jocelyn Babudri: Oh fantastic. For those of you who don't know, our GCELE's or Global Citizenship and Equity Learning experiences are about 10 to 14 day long service-learning experiences where students get to work on social justice and equity projects in various parts of the world, like Cuba.
Jocelyn Babudri: Monica, maybe you can tell us a little bit about where you went and what you did there?
Monica De Leon: Like Arnetia, I also went to Scotland at the University of West Scotland for a semester exchange program. I experienced one semester of tourism management there and it was a great experience, because aside from I get to keep the winter here in Canada in 2019, it was a great experience to know Scottish education and to understand tourism from that side of the world.
Jocelyn Babudri: Fantastic. And you're also doing another program right now, the Global Capstone program?
Monica De Leon: Exactly. It was a great program, which I'm currently in and doing lots of research right now with my team.
Jocelyn Babudri: For those of you who don't know, Global Capstone is a fairly new program here at SaGE. It's where we take diverse groups of students from all different programs on the campus, put them in teams, and they work on a real-life problem together and present it to a panel of industry experts. The winning teams of that pitch then get to take all of their learning and all of their experience abroad on a two week faculty-led international program.
Jocelyn Babudri: This year it is to Brazil. Thank you very much for being here, Monica. It's great to have you.
Jocelyn Babudri: Taranjeet, can you tell us a little bit about where you went and what you did there?
Taranjeet Singh: I went to Sancti Spiritus in Cuba for my GCELE in 2018. We were helping the farmer, over there we were working on the fields and we learned a lot about permaculture. Last year, I went to Finland at Turku University of Applied Sciences, where we were learning about circular economy.
Taranjeet Singh: It was a short, intensive program for 14 days and we learned about sustainability and a lot more.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow, that's fantastic. Yeah, our SIPS are great, because they're shorter in duration and they happen over the summer and they're more independent than our faculty-led programs or our GCELE's, because students are traveling independently to that country where they stay at our partner university and take a short academic course, like you did Taranjeet or learn a language and learn about the culture, like you did Arnetia.
Jocelyn Babudri: What made you decide to apply for an exchange program or a SIP or GCELE? What motivated you to really look into that?
Arnetia Bishop: Prior to coming to Centennial College, I worked a lot with the Region Part Project and just seeing a lot of at risk youth. I wanted to be the motivator for them to go to college, to experience everything that they can. That was pretty much my take on it. I know that Centennial's super supportive when it comes to their GCELE's and their SIPs and their exchanges. I knew that no matter what, Centennial would've had my back, even if something happened on the trip or if I needed extra guidance. That was really two of my driving forces for applying for SIPs.
Jocelyn Babudri: Fantastic. What about finances? Were you concerned about that being a barrier to travel? Especially, in case of the semester exchange program, which is a much longer commitment. Was the bursary helpful? How did you navigate that conversation?
Arnetia Bishop: I was really nervous. I actually went to my bank a few times and kept checking my balance, just to ensure that I had enough money to travel. What I actually did was I sat down and I made a budget. I made a budget as if I was staying in Canada, paying rents, paying for my car, just doing everything as normal. What I discovered was one, Scotland a lot cheaper than Canada. The bursary actually helped a lot with that, because in Scotland my flat was only $500/month, whereas my rent here was more than that.
Arnetia Bishop: If you're able to allocate a small amount ... say you're working a part time job right now and you're able to allocate a small amount every single month knowing you're going to apply ... as soon as you know you're going to apply, start allocating a small amount, because you might be that lucky person that gets to go on an exchange for a whole semester. Now, you're having the time of your life traveling abroad.
Arnetia Bishop: I really want to thank the SaGE team for helping me, in regards to budgeting and being more confident in myself and that really meant a lot to me. Thank you.
Jocelyn Babudri: Oh that's so great to hear. Budgeting, that's such great advice, even just for life.
Jocelyn Babudri: Monica, what about you? You also went to Scotland on an exchange program? Talk to me about maybe your concerns with finance and how SaGE maybe helped you with that.
Monica De Leon: Yeah, I was also like Arnetia. I was not confident, especially about the financial aspect that goes with studying abroad for a whole semester, but the bursary helped me a great deal as well. Major portion of the bursary went towards renting a flat with Melanie, which also is a student from the same program as me. We went to Scotland in the same program and then we were both very frugal and practical, because we wanted to save money and travel the whole UK, which we did.
Monica De Leon: Aside from the bursary from Centennial College, we didn't have to shell out a single cent in our pocket.
Jocelyn Babudri: What kinds of things did you end up spending on when you were abroad?
Monica De Leon: Yeah, of course. Basic needs come first, food, shelter and then our transportation and then our minor excursions, which is part of the program. For example, field trip to the of Bannockburn heritage site, which we needed for the tourism management program.
Jocelyn Babudri: Neat. Arnetia, what about when you went on that SIP to Japan, what did you spend your money on?
Arnetia Bishop: I actually was able to stay in Japan an extra two weeks. I was able to spend about $5 a day on food. Around the corner from the Nagoya Gakuin University, there is a convenience store and the ready made meals were about $5 per portion and there were enough to feed you three times a day.
Arnetia Bishop: Yeah, that allowed me to stay in Japan an extra two weeks. If you want to stay in Japan post your SIP, you can, but just know I would recommend hostels. Hostels are a great way to stay in Japan and they're actually very clean and they're very well taken care of.
Arnetia Bishop: While we're on the trip in Nagoya as well, we stayed in a lot of hostels along the way. The university paid for us to stay in hostels as well. It's a good experience.
Jocelyn Babudri: Fantastic! Taranjeet, when you went to Finland on your SIP, your short international program ... which are about 70% funded by the college, so we do provide a bursary for that ... but when you went to Finland, what did you end up spending when you were there?
Taranjeet Singh: The bursary that I got, I was able to use that very efficiently, because the flight that I booked, I booked a lot ... around two months ago. I got already good price. I saved some money from there and then the rest of the amount that I got was used mostly on renting an apartment. I was sharing apartment with two other students from Centennial, so it lowered down the whole price.
Taranjeet Singh: The rest of it was majorly on the groceries. I found that groceries are a little bit expensive in Finland than in Canada. The social program, the program itself was paid by the college, so I didn't made much of expenses from my pocket, just some on food and it was all good otherwise.
Jocelyn Babudri: It sounds like all of you benefited a lot from that extra leg up with the bursary that the college does provide. All of our programs that SaGE offers, our SIPs, our GCELEs, our applied research abroad programs, our faculty-led international programs, our exchanges, internships, conferences, all of them ... the college will cover approximately 70 to 100% of all travel costs for these programs, which as you've heard from our Arnetia and Taranjeet and Monica can can really help get you to take that extra step and that risk, because we're taking some of the financial barrier away and making them accessible for our entire community.
Jocelyn Babudri: One thing I want to talk about is our faculty-led international programs. Our FLIPs are approximately two week long programs. They're really targeted towards specific programs at Centennial. There are about 10 to 14 days long and usually students from my particular program will travel with a faculty member and they'll work on an intensive course that includes classes and site visits and hands-on projects.
Jocelyn Babudri: As an example, we have students from our supply chain management program who will be traveling in two weeks to the Panama Canal, where they're really going to learn a lot about the global supply chain and basically all their learning will come to life. For FLIPs, we typically pay for all the big expenses. The college will pay for flights, accommodation, in-country transportation, insurance, some meals depending on the program.
Jocelyn Babudri: Very much like the GCELE that you, Taranjeet and Arnetia went on, where the college just sort of took care of that and then you had to maybe bring a bit of personal spending money for that. Usually, we ask students for our FLIPs and our GCELEs to budget about $300 for a program like that.
Jocelyn Babudri: Let's switch gears here and I want to talk about school, because let's face it, it is hard being a student, isn't it? There's a lot on your plate, very busy, tests, assignments. A lot of students are curious, how did you balance the participation with your global experience programs?
Jocelyn Babudri: Monica, I'm really curious, maybe you can share with us how did you make it work academically for yourself?
Monica De Leon: Yeah, for mine there wasn't really any conflict, because I was there for a whole semester. That means that I don't need to be in Centennial College for one whole semester, which I just devoted and focused on studying in University of West of Scotland. There wasn't really any problem and my professors here in Centennial College who are in touch with me, they were mentoring me, even though I am in the University of West Scotland. There wasn't really any conflict at all.
Monica De Leon: Don't be nervous about how it's going to affect your GPA and all that. I have all those worries, but at the end of the day, I got credit six subjects from that exchange program, which is really great.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wonderful. What about you Arnetia? How did you balance your participation, not just on the semester exchange program, but even with the SIP and the GCELE that you were able to do? How did you manage that?
Arnetia Bishop: For me, it was pretty intense because I went straight from my ... I took my exchange in the winter semester and then in the summer I went to Japan. I did have to miss a summer semester that I could have taken. However, it actually panned out a lot better, because in the fall I was able to take all of my courses. I was able to add additional courses if I needed it, but I didn't actually need to do that. With Japan, I was actually able to add that to my resume and I was able to get a pretty prestigious internship. I really recommend going on GCELEs just to add to your resume and put it on your resume so that people know that you took that extra step.
Jocelyn Babudri: You make a really great point is most employers these days are looking for that global experience. They're looking for employees who are competent in cultural communication, who have great communication skills and can navigate different challenges and are adaptable and flexible.
Jocelyn Babudri: Taranjeet, what are some of the benefits that you've found from participating in your program?
Taranjeet Singh: You learn a lot, I would say. It's not only personally, but the life skills you have being in a different country, completely new people, even if they're from your own college, few of them still you meet them for the first time and you're going in a different country, living with different people, experiencing their culture and adapting with that.
Taranjeet Singh: Know all that time management skills, that budgeting, I never did that in my whole life. My parents used to do that for me, but how to manage a budget and be in that specific limit, those skills, I don't know where you can learn. You take a financial course, I don't know what, but I got that experiential learning by going on those experiences. Also, I am very much engaged at the college.
Taranjeet Singh: If you talk about our college, there was so much diverse. We have students over 100 countries speaking more than 100 languages. How we see ourselves in that global community, how we interact with them, I think it was just amazing for me to go on those experiences. I would definitely recommend students, because I have friends in different schools and universities and most of the schools don't have something like that. All they have is some kind of exchange program, but our college has so many different kinds of cool experiences. It's just ... they asked me "How do you have ..." you're traveling all over the world ... I feel so glad that I'm part of this community and we have so many great opportunities.
Arnetia Bishop: To add to that too, making friends is probably the best part of SaGE programs. Some of my closest friends are friends that I made on SaGE programs, especially Japan. We were such a close-knit group. We loved each other so much. We supported each other so much. If you're feeling a little bit lonely and you're not entirely sure how to make friends in Centennial college, I really recommend going on a SaGE exchange or GCELE and making those friends and making those connections, because they might not be in your program, but it might help you connect with people that you never thought you would connect with, that you never thought you'd speak to in your entire life. You might be able to connect with them and make a long lasting connection.
Arnetia Bishop: For me, some of those people went to my wedding. That was really cool.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow!
Taranjeet Singh: That's so amazing!
Arnetia Bishop: So I appreciate that aspect as well.
Jocelyn Babudri: That's amazing.
Monica De Leon: Yeah, I totally agree, because I'm currently in the Global Capstone program and I have my group mates, we are five in the group. I never experienced myself having those kinds of close friends in my life, if not with the help of SaGE.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow. That's amazing to make those long-lasting connections and really come together and do something incredible in Cuba, in Scotland, in Japan is amazing. Taranjeet, you mentioned something really interesting, which was a lot of our community, they come to Canada and they don't get an opportunity to travel.
Jocelyn Babudri: And one of the misconceptions that I want to clear up right now is all of our programs are open to domestic and international students. They're open to any full time Centennial student, regardless of where you're from or if you're international or domestic. That's really great.
Jocelyn Babudri: On your GCELE, most of our GCELEs happen over the Engagement Week. When we're talking about academics and how to make it work, we're talking about planning your model route with your coordinator. If you're wanting to go on an exchange or maybe doing a short international program when you have the summers off.
Jocelyn Babudri: But what about the GCELEs Taranjeet? How did you balance that? Did that work okay with you?
Taranjeet Singh: Oh, it worked fantastic. My GCELE was in summer, I like to worry that my summers were off completely. I was just so glad because it gives you a sense of relief, because you don't have any classes going on that you're missing and you're in Cuba. It's so much fun and it's not ... of course, you're learning as well. Learning is a great aspect of it, but the fun is also a major part of it. If you have both combined, it just gets so amazing.
Taranjeet Singh: I was all free, my mind was clear that I'm not missing any classes or there are tests going on, but even if there were, I'm very much confident this thing that our professors and faculty are so much supportive and especially if you're going something for this, they will definitely support in that.
Jocelyn Babudri: Fantastic. We've talked about academics a little bit. We've talked about some of the benefits and also the bursary and the funding that's provided. Let's really get down to logistics. Sometimes for someone who's never traveled before, there's a lot you need to do, you've got to book flights, accommodations, you might need to look into getting a visitor VISA, figure out in-country transportation. It's a lot! It's overwhelming.
Jocelyn Babudri: Monica, maybe you could share with us a little bit about your experience with travel and how you felt about the logistics side of things?
Monica De Leon: Yeah. First of all, I'm very nervous especially when it comes to applying VISA. I totally have zero knowledge when it comes to applying a student VISA to the UK, but the SaGE team ... specifically, Jocelyn ... helped me a lot when it comes to lodging my application. I have no idea about how to manage the VFS site and all that.
Monica De Leon: Then also throughout my duration of travel in Scotland, I was confident, because I know that I have SaGE team, they always check on us, they send us email. Also I remember that I needed to extend my insurance coverage for three more days. I remember emailing Jocelyn and then when I checked on my email, it was done! "Okay Monica, it was extended."
Monica De Leon: The support is enormous and you don't really have to be worried about it. I was worried back then and I hope that I did not worry that much, because SaGE team has got your back really.
Jocelyn Babudri: That's so wonderful to hear. A lot of what you're mentioning is ... we do stay in touch with you. We don't just send you abroad and say, "Okay, good luck. See you in five months." We're still there. Especially for our longer-term programs, our students still have access to their coordinator for some support and their success advisors and of course the SaGE team.
Jocelyn Babudri: It's great to hear that you felt really that you benefited from that consistent level of support that we can provide you. We love hearing from you too, because it makes us so happy when we see how you're doing and we get to see the pictures that you post and it really makes our day as well.
Jocelyn Babudri: Taranjeet, maybe you can tell us a little bit about how did you manage the logistics of getting to Finland for your SIP program? How did that work for you?
Taranjeet Singh: Oh, it went very well. I felt very much prepared. The pre-departure meeting that we had, we were able to familiarize each other with the group. The SaGE portal that we have is just phenomenal. You get all of the documents that you require for a VISA, you have your insurance over there, you have emergency contact for the country.
Taranjeet Singh: I felt very much prepared and I had all the information that I needed and the continuous support from SaGE. "Okay, if I'm missing something, I was getting emails on it." I personally found out that it was much easier than I was thinking, because we have a team that has our back. I really appreciate that.
Jocelyn Babudri: That is so great to hear, that you felt our pre-departure training, which is something we provide for all of our programs, really help to prepare you for travel, which is great. I'll just talk a little bit about the support that we provide. A lot of our programs, our FLIPs and our GCELEs and our Applied Research Abroad Programs or ARAPs, the SaGE team actually just books the flights and hotels for you. You don't have to worry.
Jocelyn Babudri: There are some more independent programs, like our SIPS and our exchange where you're not traveling with faculty where we'll give you the bursary and some guidance and give you some help, but you're doing the actual booking. It's great to hear that you found that support helpful Taranjeet. Our goal at SaGE is to provide you assistance from the moment you apply to the moment you depart and then when you come back. We're with you all the way through, from pre-departure to your return.
Jocelyn Babudri: I just want to chat a little bit about some of these barriers we're talking about. All of you have done more than one program with us and you've been able to overcome some of these academic, logistical, personal, and financial barriers. Why would you want to do this again? After you had your first program, after you did your first GCELE Arnetia, why would you want to do this again?
Arnetia Bishop: The experience, it's pretty much once in a lifetime. I got to do it three times in my lifetime. The reason why I'd want to do it again is because I know that the SaGE team has my back in case anything happens. But I also know that the experience that you get from traveling abroad makes you a global citizen. Now, we talk about global citizen equity a lot at Centennial college, but it's really hard to be a global citizen when you're based in Canada and you're in the workplace and you might not know exactly what a global citizen means.
Arnetia Bishop: But you attend Centennial College, you have a diverse amount of students, and then you're sent abroad and you're faced with a barrier. You might say, "I don't actually know how to communicate with this person abroad, because we have a language barrier or a cultural barrier." But the SaGE team actually gave me a lot of information on how to communicate, especially in Japan. That was a big one, because their culture is a lot different from our culture. Being able to have some insight as to what I'm going to expect when I land helps me in my anxiety and helped me calm down and be able to take in the experience a lot better. The SaGE team is what makes me want to apply again, specifically.
Jocelyn Babudri: That's so fantastic! Monica, you had an interesting experience when you came back from Scotland and you've experienced some academic growth, some personal growth. Maybe you could share a little bit about that.
Monica De Leon: Yeah, the semester exchange program was very helpful, especially in the tourism industry, which I am part of. I can say that I experienced both professional and personal growth. After my return from Scotland, my academic performance skyrocketed. I got 4.5 GPA last semester, which I thought was impossible. I received the Service Inspired Scholarship and I was also awarded the Best Social Venture Award in a campus-wide competition.
Monica De Leon: This semester as I previously mentioned, I am participating in the Global Capstone program. I am recently nominated in the inner prestigious Canada-wide program, which is called Baxter Student Ambassador Program. I'm a finalist for that one. The growth is enormous and I would advise to just grab every opportunity that come your way and take ownership of your personal growth, because nobody else will do that for you.
Arnetia Bishop: And just to add about scholarships. In case you're away ... I was just applying for scholarships for the winter semester, if you do an exchange ... if you're away for the whole semester and you do actually get accepted for a scholarship, they can mail that letter directly to you or they can mail it to your parents and they can take care of that for you.
Arnetia Bishop: I won two scholarships while I was away, so that helps me fund my exchange semester a little bit further. Don't be too worried about saying, "Well I applied for this and I applied for this. I might miss it, I might miss walking on stage. What am I going to do?" The SaGE team is going to help you navigate all of that.
Monica De Leon: Yeah, I also received the scholarship when I was in Scotland. I had my husband walk for me, he received the check and the award for me.
Arnetia Bishop: Oh, that's so cool. My mom walked for me.
Jocelyn Babudri: That's amazing. I'm going to switch gears here and I want to ask you, what is your most memorable moment. Maybe starting with you Arnetia, what maybe you experienced while you were traveling abroad? Is there anything stand out to you?
Arnetia Bishop: When we were in Japan, we went to Tokyo Disneyland ... a few of the girls on the short international program. I have to say, the level of customer service in Japan far exceeds anything that I've ever experienced in all of the countries that I've traveled to.
Arnetia Bishop: When we were at Tokyo Disneyland, we all went on this one ride and this is my most memorable moment. We held hands because we were scared to get on this one ride, because it was a roller coaster and none of us really like roller coasters, but it's something we had to do. That's when I finally figured out the meaning behind global citizenship and equity, just about being able to not even know someone and being able to hold their hand through anything that you're going through. That to me was the most important experience.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow. Sounds like a fun memory. Did you scream?
Arnetia Bishop: Yes.
Jocelyn Babudri: What about you, Monica? Do you have any memorable moments that you want to share?
Monica De Leon: There's a lot too, but aside from the whisky tourism that's happening in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. There's this one experience wherein Melanie and I went to Belfast in Northern Ireland. We went to Giant's Causeway, which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I asked Melanie that we go there, because it's Ireland's only World Heritage Site. It turns out when I posted it on my social media that it's also actually a Game of Thrones filming location. That was really nice as well.
Jocelyn Babudri: Cool. Are you a Game of Thrones fan?
Monica De Leon: I'm not, but my friends are and they're like, "I'm jealous. I wish I'm there too." Yeah.
Jocelyn Babudri: That's amazing. What about you Taranjeet?
Taranjeet Singh: For me, it's actually a hard question because I really, really loved each and every moment being there, but if I have to pick one would be just be with those people, those great friends that I made from all around the world and we still are connected. I think it's just amazing that how these global experiences bring people from all over the world together and you make long lasting friendships.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow, that's fantastic. I want to end with a message to all of our listeners, which is if you think you can't travel, you can. In fact, the best time to do so is while you're a full time student at Centennial, because we give you support, we help you with funding, we help you with logistics.
Jocelyn Babudri: In the end it looks great on your resume. Thinking about all of those listeners out there, all the members of our community who are curious, they want to try this, they're interested, Taranjeet, what would you say to those people right now who may be are on the fence and want to travel or are a bit nervous? what would your advice be for them?
Taranjeet Singh: This is a lifetime experience that you get. Being in Centennial is such a fortunate thing that our college provides such kind of opportunities to travel all over the world. I would definitely recommend students, no matter if you're domestic, international because it's open for all the students. Don't think that it's only domestic, I'm an international student. I went for two global experiences. We have SaGE, that is a great team who has your back and you will love this and you will definitely grow.
Jocelyn Babudri: Great. And what about you, Arnetia, for all of your captive audience out there who's curious and maybe wants to go to Japan and or Scotland? What would your final advice be for them?
Arnetia Bishop: Do it and take ownership of it. Say, "I'm going to do this and I'm going to do the best I can." Even if you're nervous and ... just do it.
Jocelyn Babudri: Monica?
Monica De Leon: On a personal note, involve your loved ones with your experience. My husband was very supportive with me. We have to experience a long distance relationship for four or five months. Tell your cousins, tell your parents about it. You'll be surprised how happy your loved ones would be to celebrate your successes, no matter how small or big they are.
Jocelyn Babudri: Wow, that's such a great message. I guess what I want to say to our listeners today is if you think you can't travel, you can. You can! Actually, the best time to travel is when you're a full-time student at Centennial. We offer a lot of support as our panelists have mentioned today. We offer some bursaries, we offer logistical support and we've got a lot of different programs. There's definitely one that's right for you. There's one that's right for you in terms of timing, in terms of duration or location.
Jocelyn Babudri: If there're any listeners out there right now, take a moment, check out the SaGE portal, sage.centennialcollege.ca, and see what programs are out there or come on by to our offices. Give us a call, shoot us an email. If you want to know more information, our email is sage@centennialcollege.ca. We have a team of advisors, including myself, who can help advise you on maybe the best program for you, or we can give you some additional support or guidance to make your global experience journey happen.
Jocelyn Babudri: I want to thank Taranjeet and Arnetia and Monica for all of your words of wisdom and your practical advice about budgeting and your encouragement, you're all an inspiration. We are so grateful that you did a program with us once and then you came back and tried it again. Thank you very much for your thoughts today.
Pearl Vas: Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Through a Global Lens. Join us for next week's episode, Faculty and Staff Go Abroad. Make sure to listen and subscribe to the Centennial College podcast on SoundCloud, Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, and Spotify.