Windsor's ethnic diversity breaks down barriers

Environmental issues are increasingly important, says Di Xiao, nowhere more so than in her home city of Shenzhen in southern China.

 

“I want to help people in China learn more about protecting the environment,” says Xiao, who is pursuing studies in environmental engineering.

 

She had heard about the University of Windsor’s engineering programs back home, and completed a term in the English Language Improvement Program in Fall 2009. She says the skills helped prepare her for her university courses.

 

“I learned how to take notes during class and how to communicate with instructors and work with my classmates,” Xiao says. “They also teach us how to do presentations and share our ideas.”

 

She found Windsor’s embrace of multiculturalism helped to alleviate her concern that she would be isolated in a strange place.

 

“I’m not very good at making friends, so I was nervous about studying abroad,” she says. “But people have been so nice! The professors and my classmates are very friendly; I have made a lot of friends from different countries.”

 

She suggests students following her to the ELIP program prepare well before they come to Canada.