Project funders

This project is made possible with funding by the Government of Ontario and through eCampusOntario’s support of the Virtual Learning Strategy. To learn more about the Virtual Learning Strategy visit: https://vls.ecampusontario.ca.

Student voices

We wish to express our deep gratitude to all the student storytellers for their contributions to this book: Heejin Kim, Joe Kawalec, Stephanie Wang, Ishita Aggarwal, Michelle Yan, and Vurjeet Madan.

Video credits

Produced by Tesni Ellis, Digital Media Developer, U of T Academic Success.

Videos featured in the series “International Students: Stories and Strategies for Academic Success in Postsecondary Education” (Arriving, Orienting, Relating, Adjusting, Shifting, Belonging, Connecting, Learning, Storytelling, Awakening, Reflecting) include footage from a storytelling workshop filmed using Zoom in November 2021.

Additional footage created by students Michelle Yan and Vurjeet Madan and used with permission from the University of Toronto Digital Media Bank by David Lee.

Collaborators

We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of other readers of this document who gave expert suggestions throughout – from the Centre for International Experience at the University of Toronto: Katherine Beaumont, Senior Director, Global Learning Opportunities & International Student Success, and Tara Etherington, Assistant Director, International Student and Scholar Experience; from Student Life and Learning Support at Ryerson University: Chris Brierley, Senior English Language Support Specialist.

About the authors

We are a small group of learning specialists and educators working at the University of Toronto. We have a range of experiences and areas of expertise and a shared interest in supporting student success in all its varieties.

Yaseen Ali: Learning Strategist; PhD student in Language and Literacies Education at the University of Toronto. Yaseen supports students in all areas of academic performance and is interested in intercultural learning and World Englishes.

Rahut Bhat: Resilience Program Lead at the University of Toronto. Rahul supports students in developing academic resilience and resourcefulness through learning programs and curricular partnerships.

John Hannah: Director, Academic Success, Division of Student Life at the University of Toronto. John has been an educator in various postsecondary settings for over twenty years, focused on understanding the varieties of student experience and finding creative ways to support them as they make their way.

Wenzhe (Sherrie) Xu: Work-Study student; MEd student in Higher Education (Student Development and Student Services) at the University of Toronto. Sherrie co-facilitated student focus groups with Yaseen and storytelling workshops with Tesni to collect insights and recommendations from current international students.

Tesni Ellis: Digital Media Developer; PhD student in Education at York University. Tesni facilitates storytelling workshops using drawing and other creative methods to hear from students about their experiences.

And finally, we thank you, dear readers, for considering the stories and strategies presented here. Wherever you are in your academic journey as an international student in Canada, we wish you well.