Hello dear PISA community!
My name is Lessica Tchiloemba and I come from Montréal. I am currently majoring in International Studies. Alongside Alexe Cyr, I am one of your first-year ambassadors!
Now that the semester is coming to an end, it amazes me how fast it went. I still remember my first day on campus, moving into the Paterson residence and attending O-Week. What an experience! Students of all ages were so welcoming and friendly! Coming from the biggest cégep of Montréal, with more than 10,000 students, Bishop’s was definitely a big shift. A smaller town, smaller buildings, if any, and a smaller community. It was so much different than what I was used to for the past 20 years, however, I never felt better away from home. The people here made my transition so easy! It’s funny to me now, because I used to read about the experience of past Bishop’s students online and they were all saying the same thing. At the moment, I thought it was just some good advertisements but now that I experienced this culture for myself, the only thing I can say is to attend Bishop’s University! Obviously, I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t address the concerns and fears that Covid-19 brought to my parents and myself. But they all faded away in a matter of weeks because everyone from the community prioritizes the integration and safety of new students. It was genuine and constant throughout the semester and I couldn’t have been happier to attend university, even during a pandemic. I was able to attend business conferences, join associations, participate in workshops such as the Lanterns Creation. I also had the chance of meeting teachers and Deans one-on-one as well as senior students, such as Marie-Pier Allard (my favorite)!
Truthfully, attending university for the first time and during a pandemic is simply not easy. Concentration is harder to maintain and studying sometimes seems optional (at least for me)! Many times, during the semester, I’ve been told that I’m missing out on the full potential of the university due to all the restrictions. That might be true but nonetheless, I never felt that lacking because I had an amazing support system here at Bishop’s.
Hey PISA community!
My name is Alexe Cyr and I am one of the few Bishop’s students that’s actually from the region. I am currently majoring in International Studies (and minoring in mathematics). Alongside Lessica Tchiloemba, I am one of your first-year ambassadors!
The first time I visited Bishop’s was in 2013, when Sherbrooke hosted the Canada games. At the time, I was thirteen and volunteered at the soccer events. Needless to say, the campus was beautiful and its amenities impressive: anyone visiting would think so. My enchantment went beyond the university’s infrastructures, I could tell that there was something special about the culture at Bishop’s, I just didn’t know what it was yet. Several years later, when I came back to campus as a potential student, I discovered a closely-knit community where Professors were personable and welcoming, and where activities were diverse yet inclusive. Most significantly, Bishop’s was a place where student satisfaction was incredibly high and, in spite of that, the University constantly wished to better itself. I was impressed and applied soon after.
Of course, my University experience so far is not how I had envisioned it would be, but things are not all bad. For instance, I got to meet many of you (whether it be online or in person), amiable and engaging people, and was able to attend fascinating classes. Because, regardless of all of the “covidian” obstacles they may have faced, our teachers managed to relay their passion for politics, religion, language … to us. Testifying to that: I started the semester in International Studies, and I’ll continue into the next doing a double major in Political and International Studies. The fields are complementary in so many ways and are both utterly fascinating.
These odd circumstances have been remarkable but haven’t hindered our community. Regardless, I do hope that we will soon revert to our “old normal” and experience what genuine life at Bishop’s is (within the norms of safety).
