Nearly two dozen students from New Brunswick's four universities took part in an event through The Saint John Newcomers Centre on March 2, 2019. (Brad Perry/Wave News)
Some New Brunswick university students are giving back to their communities this March Break.
More than 20 students from the province’s four universities took part in a Super Saturday Social through The Saint John Newcomers Centre.
It is a chance for newcomers to practice their English and meet new people in the community.
Sarah King, director of experiential education at the University of New Brunswick, says the event was also a learning opportunity for the students.
“Those cultural competency skills, engaging with diverse populations, that’s something all our students are going to need as New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada accept more and more immigrants and as our communities become more and more diverse,” she said.
Many smiles and laughs at the Portland United Church in #SaintJohn today where the Saint John Newcomers Centre is hosting their weekly Super Saturday Social. pic.twitter.com/EJPCX7rEDn
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) March 2, 2019
King said the universities saw a large response when they asked for volunteers — they even had to turn some students away.
One of those who did make the cut was Kana Tagawa, an international student at Mount Allison University in Sackville.
Tagawa, who came to Canada four years ago, says she wanted to take part because she understands what newcomers are going through.
“My first year, I was struggling so much because adjusting to a new culture was very hard for me,” she said.
Fellow student Nadine Robinson hopes others will do their part to help welcome newcomers.
“Maybe they’ll take a minute of their day and say hi or invite a newcomer in their neighbourhood to go for coffee or something,” she said.
The Saint John Newcomers Centre hosted a Super Saturday Social on March 2, 2019. (Brad Perry/Wave News)
More than 80 newcomers came through the doors within the first hour of the Super Saturday Social.
Mohamed Bagha, managing director of The Saint John Newcomers Centre, said events like this are important for newcomers and the community as a whole.
“Our goal is to make newcomers local, how can we make a newcomer a New Brunswicker,” Bagha said. “That’s what we work towards and this program promotes such goals.”
Bagha said we as a community need to grow and newcomers are part of the solution.
The Super Saturday Social was funded by FutureReadyNB, which provides experiential learning opportunities for students looking to apply their skills in community and employment contexts.
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