Student Comments - Shiori Atagi

First of all, I'd like to thank Wendy, teachers, all the staff at Variety, and my classmates in BINT program at VEC.

Hi everyone! I'm Shiori Atagi, a university student from Japan. To all of you who are considering to study abroad, I'd like to say you should take this opportunity. 5 month ago, I was like you. I was so nervous about study abroad, because I didn't have any friends in Canada and also I didn't have any confidence in English. But after I've taken BINT program at Vancouver English Centre, I got a lot of friends from ALL OVER THE WORLD and I got confidence in English. It is this experience with VEC that made my life changed dramatically.

I took the 4 month BINT program at VEC. First 2 months, I studied basics of business. Even though I'd never studied about it, I could understand classes because teachers explained so well. Besides, I learned many things from classmates. In general, the students who take this program have various backgrounds. In my class, one of my classmates was a lawyer, and another was a teacher. Each my classmate has great experience in their fields. For this reason, I obtained much information on real business.

Last 2 months, tt was a practicum. You can choose which company or industry you would like to work at. In my case, Wendy, a great coordinator of BINT program, found THE BEST company for me!!!!!! That one was "Variety - The children's charity" where I worked for 2 months. Actually "Variety" is not a company but a Non Profit Organization (NPO). I was interested in this field, however I had no idea about what types of NPO there were. So I went to Wendy's office to consult about my internship. I told her what I've done before and what I'd like to do as an intern. Then she found this organization, Variety. I believe she found the best place for me, because I met super kind people at Variety and they changed my life.

Firstly, I could get a real business experience at Variety. I worked in a human resources area. I handled more than 500 volunteers and scheduled them for many events we had. Also I conducted some parts of orientation for new volunteers. The relationship with my boss and me was so good. She trusted me a lot and tried to keep me busy which was great!! Secondly, my co-workers were awesome!! They treated me as a member of Variety. For example, they allowed me to attend their Xmas dinner at a hotel and also Xmas lunch at a casual restaurant. Also they gave me an office with a phone and a big desk. It was totally same as another member's office. In addition, I met many volunteers because it's a charitable organization. Some of volunteers were immigrants from other countries and some of them were international students like me. It was very interesting to have a conversation with them. Through the experience with many people who got involved in Variety, I learned the pleasure of working at a NPO. Then I thought I'd like to study about NPO more after I go back to Japan. This experience gave me an idea for my future job!!

After I came back to my country, I took an exam to change university because I wanted to research on NPO. I passed the exam. From this April, I'm going to one of the most famous university in Japan. I'm so excited about my new life!!

If I didn't take BINT program at VEC, I wouldn't be so much happy like now.

Work in Banff National Park.

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