A new intake of students recently arrived at the University Canada West campus in downtown Vancouver to pursue their higher education goals.

Orientation for the Summer 2017 term took place over two days on June 29 – 30. With a large international component to the student body, many of the students traveled a great distance to pursue a degree at University Canada West (UCW).

Mehril Tehrani, 30, is one of several new Iranian students pursuing an MBA degree at UCW. She is from the City of Gonbadekavoos.

She has both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Iran but wanted to pursue an MBA to further her career goals.

She’ll be starting in the MBA Foundation program to help develop her skills before entering the MBA program.

She had letters of acceptance from a number of Canadian Universities including Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Guelph in Ontario, but she chose to study at UCW.

“One of my friends recommended UCW,” Tehrani said. Other factors that played into her decision was Vancouver’s reputation, its weather and that fact she doesn’t speak French.

“I preferred to come to Vancouver,” she said.

The first day of orientation familiarized the student with their new University, its various departments and the school resources available to them.

They also learned about the mandatory medical insurance and banking in Canada. A small group of students took a walking tour of the city that covered points of interest, nearby restaurants and shops, as well as public transportation options.

UCW welcomes new students for summer term

The second day included academic testing.

Kristen Armbrister, 33, traveled to UCW from City of Nassau in the Bahamas.

She has been working in production management for several years but wanted to further her education and financial understanding.

“I always wanted to pursue an MBA,” she explained.

Armbrister too is starting with the MBA Foundation program.

She heard wonderful things about Vancouver and had read that it was one of the most livable cities in the world. This prompted her to apply to UCW.

After earning her MBA, she wants to start her own consulting business in her home country. It will be focused on helping other businesses succeed.

Valeriy Tyumentsev is a 21-year-old Russian from Kemerovo. He was previously studying in Switzerland, where he completed a Bachelor of Business Administration program.

“I decided to pursue an MBA, so I researched different programs,” he said, adding he read about UCW on the internet and decided to check it out.

“It suits my situation,” he explained.

He’s only been in Vancouver for a week, but he likes we he sees so far.

“Vancouver is a very nice city with good views,” Tyumentsev said.

Chloe Zhao, 27, is originally from Beijing China, but has been living in Vancouver for the past four years. She is taking the MBA Foundation course before entering the MBA program.

She chose UCW for the location and the small class sizes. It gives her a chance to get to know her professors.

“I don’t like classes with 100 people,” Zhao explained.

University Canada West is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The University offers both online and on-campus Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication and MBA programs. The business-oriented university provides students with the experience to succeed in their careers and scholarships to recognize students’ academic excellence.

WRITTEN BY BRADLEY FEHR