The GSO Hubs

I really appreciated the opportunity to go to Finland. It was beyond my wildest imagination that I would be doing this even a few months earlier. This opportunity would not have been possible without GSO. I am a very proud GSO alumni and hope that many others get to experience this long after I have moved on, living out my dream!

My GSO experience has taught me about culture, being open-minded and I now have a great appreciation for new opportunities.

It has taught me about my family, my little boy would not speak to me while I was gone, and I just really missed and appreciated my family for being so patient during this trip.

And it has taught me even about myself, broadening my view on how I would like to run my business one day (seeing how they run their dealerships in Turku), and how much I enjoyed learning about their city and culture and that I am worthy of these experiences. I feel such gratefulness to have had the opportunity to experience this trip to Finland and I took in and appreciated and enjoyed every moment.

I never thought I’d ever do a trip like this, going to study abroad in Finland. It was just so different from what I’m used to doing and really brought me out of my comfort zone, but I’d do it all over again just to experience all of the benefits of studying abroad!

Studying abroad really is the key to bringing everyone closer together. Learning about each other’s culture and differences is so important in this day and age!

I learned that I can do things by myself. That everyone experiences things differently and that we are all unique

I am a member of George Brown College’s Post Graduate Italian Culinary Arts Program. Through this program I studied in Italy at one of the best culinary schools in the world, ALMA. I also had the opportunity to intern at the world famous Osteria Francescana by Massimo Bottura. Osteria Francescana is a 3 Michelin Star restaurant that was awarded the Best Restaurant in the World in 2016 and 2018 and is now ranked as the Best of the Best by The World’s 50 Best. Restaurants.
Working at Osteria Francescana in Italy has been a dream of mine since entering the culinary industry. Thanks to George Brown College and GSO, I was able to turn this dream into a reality. This opportunity has truly changed my life and future. Thanks to this opportunity, I have many options to further my career more. I will be spending the next two years working in London, UK at more of the world’s best restaurants to further expand my knowledge so I can bring it back to Canada and reshape the culinary industry of Canada.

The GSO experience has given me a comprehensive understanding of global issues, and the confidence to independently and collaboratively develop ways to solve problems. The impacts of unprecedented levels of social, environmental and geopolitical changes, and the results of rapid globalization, require far greater soft skills from us. Many people like me, who came to Canada as a refugee, do not immediately have access to educational opportunities. There are other reasons besides linguistics barriers; the most important is the financial support to acquire new skills. Programs such as GSO play a significant role in supporting students to gain soft skills. The international opportunity prepared me forever for changes in my level of confidence and opened doors to new opportunities in my future endeavors.​

My ability to see situations from multiple different sides has expanded greatly, and the potential for using that skill is endless. With minimal travel experience, this opportunity really opened my eyes and stimulated new questioning and thinking. I now make fewer assumptions about the “naturalness” of my own culture and other aspects of life in PEI. More Canadian students need access to international experiences because the rewards for both the individual and society are huge.

This experience has enabled me to approach teaching through a lens of equity, diversity and inclusion, creating a classroom setting where my students feel comfortable in their own skin.