Marisha Caesar-Phillip is at Brock University to help her country. When the mother of three returns to St. Kitts in the Caribbean she says she will be the island nation’s only speech pathologist.

“I wish to be that expert that my country needs,” she says.

Children in St. Kitts who have speech problems are often cast aside or even put into special education programs, she explains.

“It’s sort of like a stigma,” Caesar-Phillip says, adding that’s because speech issues aren’t understood and people can’t access help.

As a teacher in St. Kitts, she saw first-hand the hardships students faced. Caesar-Phillip approached the government and convinced them of the need for a speech expert. She is on a study leave with pay and in exchange she will go home and work for the government for at least five years.

When she goes home, she’ll be reunited with her husband and two sons, aged three and six.

Caesar-Phillip is here with her nine-year-old daughter Zidania and the pair talks daily with their family in St. Kitts via Skype.

It’s not easy to be separated, but Caesar-Phillip says she is staying strong and focused because she is enjoying the Applied Linguistics, Speech and Language program. She knows it will be worth it.

“I love languages and I love the art of communication,” she says. “I like to talk and I like to help people.”

She chose Brock after researching Canadian schools on the Internet – she was attracted to pictures of the campus and the annual Grape Stomp.

“I always knew I wanted to study in Canada to be close to my mom,” she says, noting her mother lives in Toronto.

“The campus just seemed really beautiful,” Caesar-Phillip says.

She adds the speech therapy program has a good reputation, which also played in to her decision to move here for school.

Caesar-Phillip says she’s a very social person, used to having lots of colleagues to talk to.

Being in a foreign country hasn’t been easy but she’s taking advantage of many of the services and events organized by Brock International Services (BIS).

“I’m trying to put myself out there,” she says, noting she’s enrolled in the Certificate for Success program and joined the French club and the Roots African Caribbean Society.

Brock International Services will also be helping link her with volunteer opportunities.

Arthur Chen, Manager of International Student Services for BIS, said connecting international students to volunteer opportunities is a big part of his role.

“We try to encourage students to volunteer and participate in the community,” he says, noting there’s a database of more than 500 students looking for volunteer roles.

He says gaining experience volunteering fosters a sense of connection to the community and is a great way for people from different countries to learn about Canada and how things work.

Chimaobi Amadi is in the second year of his Master’s in mathematics at Brock.

Chimaobi Amadi is working towards his Master’s in Mathmatics at Brock University. He is from Nigeria.

He is an avid volunteer with BIS – getting involved with its programs as often as possible.

Amadi, from Nigeria, participates in the welcome program and is a mentor.

“I’ve been volunteering and I have so many hours I’ve lost count,” he says with a smile. “It’s a real opportunity, it has led me to be part of the community at Brock and in Niagara.”

Amadi said through BIS he also takes part in programs and workshops, including the popular Certificate for Success program.

“Right from the first day I came to Brock, I went to the International Centre,” he says. “I’m meeting lots of people here from all over the world.”

Amadi took his undergraduate degree in computer science and math in Nigeria. He chose to come to Brock because of the research opportunities. His research focuses on computer algebra and cryptography.

“I compared the research opportunities,” he says. “The environment is very challenging.”

He’s happy with his choice and is learning a lot from faculty.

“The accessibility of the professors is important. They are friendly and helpful,” he says. Amadi plans to return to Nigeria to be a professor when he’s done school.

Chen says BIS starts reaching out to international students immediately, sending emails while they are still in their home country.

“We are trying our best to help them feel connected,” he says. “Once they arrive here we promote all Brock services.” It’s important to involve students from abroad in activities geared to the whole student body, he says.

“The differences you see are only 10 per cent but people tend to stay with their own groups,” Chen says. “We do these events to bring them out of their comfort zones.”

Events have been running all week to celebrate International Week. International Week is open to the entire Brock community – there are international presentations, workshops and activities for people with a variety of interests. For a full list of events, visit http://brocku.ca/international-services/international-week

For more information on international programming and services for international students, visit http://brocku.ca/international-services/student-services

By The Numbers

1,858 – number of International students studying at Brock

82 – number of countries represented at Brock

Top 10 countries with students at Brock

China – 1,193

Nigeria – 81

India – 55

Germany – 54

United Kingdom – 52

Saudi Arabia – 42

Brazil – 27

United States – 26

Ghana – 23

Australia – 19