Loy Excellentia picnic offers newcomers a start

For some international students, arriving in a new country can mean navigating an unfamiliar city, school system and culture while trying to build a new circle of friends.

A summer picnic organized by the Loy Excellentia Initiative is helping make that transition a little easier for African and Caribbean post-secondary students in Brandon.

The annual event brought together students from Brandon University and Assiniboine College at Rideau Park on Sunday for an afternoon of food, music, games, cultural connection and networking as students prepare for the new academic year.

The picnic is designed to bring incoming and returning students together before classes begin, said Aloy Anyichie, founder of the Loy Excellentia Initiative.

“The initiative provides a platform for Black African and Caribbean students to help them navigate the challenges of post-secondary education and life in Brandon,” said Anyichie, who is an associate professor of educational psychology at BU.

Anyichie said the picnic is particularly important for students who have only recently arrived in Canada.

“Some of them are just a few weeks, a few days into the country, and this becomes like a first point of call for them,” he said.

“When they come, they see people like them. They open up easily. They make friends, and that will help them to easily connect to the community and the school at large.”

For some newcomers attending the picnic, the impact was already apparent.

Koreen Lewis, an Assiniboine College student originally from Trinidad and Tobago, has been in Brandon for only about a month.

“Settling was quite difficult navigating and everything, but it’s cool now. I’m starting to settle a little,” Lewis told the Sun.

The picnic gave her an opportunity to make new friends and receive information that would help her as a student.

Lewis, who is staying on the Brandon University campus, said the event also helped change how she felt about being in Brandon.

“It’s a good initiative because, as I said before, I wasn’t really feeling welcome,” she said. “But today, I feel welcome because everybody is so friendly and so nice and so accommodating.”

BU student Makena Alwena, originally from Kenya, had been in Brandon for only two days when she attended the picnic.

Alwena said she was still getting used to the city after moving from Alberta, but described the event as welcoming.

“It’s been very welcoming, and I’m receiving a lot of new information and making new connections, which is good,” she said.

While the picnic provided a social setting for the students, it also offered several activities, including soccer, running activities, chess, checkers and Snakes and Ladders.

A dancing competition was also planned, with participants choosing their own music and the crowd voting to determine the winner.

For Anyichie, the activities are part of a larger objective — helping students establish relationships and gain information that can support their success both inside and outside the classroom.

The initiative is also preparing a student workshop for Sept. 12 featuring more than 11 professionals from fields such as banking, taxation, education, health and writing.

Anyichie said the workshop is intended to give students a strong foundation as they begin the academic year.

He encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities that can help them succeed and eventually contribute to the community after graduation.

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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