I knew university was definitely going to be different than high-school. I had heard lots of stories from friends who attended larger institutions and spoke of feeling lost within lecture halls of 500 or more, and where the professor was just a distant figure way down at the front whom they never actually exchanged words with face-to-face.

My experience at Trent University Durham was different.

Trent has small class sizes and a close knit community, letting you get to know not only the people in your program but your professors as well. Professors address you by name, making you feel like an important and active member of your class. Every professor I’ve encountered this first year has offered to meet within certain hours on campus to discuss work and ideas related to the course, and to discuss their own lives and careers and the experiences that have shaped them as people. It's been super beneficial to me to have the opportunity to really discus an issue that I'm interested in with someone who's already done so much research on the subject and has so much knowledge.

I’ve had amazingly detailed feedback on assignments I’ve submitted, sometimes in a personal email or within the grading feedback section on Blackboard. Just recently, a professor ran out to the lobby to find me after a presentation, just to give me encouraging words. He told me that I did a great job and to keep on it!

Another benefit to this small community, is the opportunity I was given to be an active member of clubs, as well as being able to start my own.  Although I didn't start my own club this year, it is incredibly easy for you to start your own, and I have seen how students (like the leaders of the women's group) have been able to work with a team to carry out their project goals. One of these was the women's group holding an event for breast cancer awareness!

Even though exams are now finished and I won't see the people I've met this year as much as I'd like, Trent University Durham continues to provide opportunities for me. This summer I'll be growing vegetables in the community garden that Trent has on campus.

I'm excited to see what more Trent Durham has for me in the future, I can't wait to see what the next three years of this journey will bring.