“I encourage everyone to travel and see the world if they can,” Chris Fernlund shares. “I’ve been able to see a lot of places and experience a lot of different cultures.”

For many students, leaving home to go to school opens up an opportunity to experience something new. For Mr. Fernlund he saw living at home as an opportunity to experience the world.

“I always knew I wanted to travel. One of the reasons I chose Trent University Durham, was so that I could live at home, save money and then see the world when I wasn’t in school,” he notes.

Over the past three years, this is exactly what he has done. Living at home has allowed Mr. Fernlund to travel throughout Europe for a summer, spend time volunteering in South Africa, as well as visit parts of South America. For Mr. Fernlund, traveling is a passion and going to Trent University Durham has allowed him to pursue that passion.

While his choice to study at Trent University Durham has opened up new opportunities to travel, Mr. Fernland is also taking full advantage of the close-knit community atmosphere at Trent and has become an active part of the community, striving to make a difference on campus.

“When I got to Trent I realized that this is a great community here and there is a lot of uncharted territory,” he says.

Mr. Fernlund currently holds the position of vice president of University Affairs for the Trent Durham Student Association (TDSA), after having previously held this position in 2012/2013. Mr. Fernlund, was also recently elected VP of Finance for Ontario University Student Alliance (OUSA) of which the TDSA is currently a member. 

“I wanted to run for the VP of Finance for OUSA because I really wanted to build more recognition for the student association on a provincial level, hopefully to allow more engagement. I also wanted to do my part to make sure OUSA was running well.”

Mr. Fernlund is just one example of how students at Trent chart their own course and utilize the benefits of having two campuses in which to pursue their education.