Trent University Open House Experience

Despite having to study for this upcoming test, in addition to a Biology test this weekend, I was able to go on a life changing experience.

On Saturday I attended Trent University's Fall Open House, an event which I was looking forward to for a long time.

Although the fact that it took over 5 hours to get there, and the fact that our GPS decided to take us on a whole bunch of back roads, kind of put a damper on my spirits, once we got there, all the driving seemed worth it. 

Once we got there, we were greeted by one of the student volunteers. She welcomed us and started talking about Trent. She gave us our "welcome gift" and directed us to the stations. At that point it was extremely crowded, I never realized how many students were interested in Trent!


As we were trying to find one of the Colleges, we got lost so we asked a group of students to help us. They offered to direct us right to the College. Upon walking over there, I was able to talk to each of them about their experience with Trent. Before long, I felt like I melded in right with them,

First I stopped at the bookstore to check out their variety of merchandise. I was met by this nice older man, who happened to serve in the Korean War. He asked me what programmes I was interested in. I said "Journalism and English Literature". He smiled at me and directed me towards the English section of the store. He showed me an endless variety of novels, anthologies and poetry books. He showed me all of the textbooks then directed me towards the clothing section of the store. He said "I think you need one of these." and pointed to a Trent sweater. I got really excited when I saw it. Normally, I don't really like the colour green, but as he described it to me, it was a "hunter green, a very hard colour to get perfect in the clothing world". My mother said "try it on", so I did and I looked in the mirror. I felt like as Trent student. I loved it, I plan to wear it on Monday to show my love for Trent.
I ended up getting the sweater, a lab book, a notebook and a pen, in addition to the free stuff that we received. when we entered


After a bit of exploring around the campus, we decided to stop for lunch. It was a bit unnerving because normally everywhere I go I have to be careful and label read everything. However, upon asking if they had any vegan options, they had the chef specially cater for us. Instead of making me feel self-conscious about being a vegan, they made me feel accepted. And the best part, it was delicious, unlike some of the "rabbit food" I've had in the past.

After lunch, we continued to look around at the information booths they had set up around. I learned about the different programmes they offered and got to talk to some of the professors. It was truly amazing being able to speak to all these students and professors who are so well known.

Next, we wandered into the DNA building to look at the science programmes they offered. While they offer some of the more basic subjects like Biology and Math, they take pride in specialized programmes like Forensic Science (my initial choice two years ago) and nursing.  The labs were state of the art and there were so many rooms which were filled with top notch materials.

Finally, after a lot of anticipation, we walked into Gzowski College, where all the Humanities, Social Science and English programmes were on display. I walked in and it was so crowded that I was shoulder to shoulder with people. Despite the challenge of trying to manoever around hundreds of people, I found my desired programme booth, Journalism. I shoved my way past everyone and basically ran up to the booth where I was met by Karen Maki and Rob Washburn, a very well-known Journalist at Loyalist College. I started asking them questions about what their programme was like and what prerequisites I needed. Luckily I have all the prerequisites and based on my average they are willing to offer me an entrance scholarship. They asked if I had any experience in Journalism, I said "Yes, I've written a couple of articles for the local newspaper in the past.". They seemed pleased by this and gave me their business cards. I felt honoured being able have the opportunity to talk to them.

After all of this, I was able to sit in on a mock lecture for both English Literature and Journalism. They showed what we would be learning and the courses we could take. I also got a look at my potential competition where I surprisingly found out that only 30 people will get accepted into the programme. This scared me a little bit because I felt as though my marks weren't high enough, but after hearing it from other people that my marks were high enough, I felt a bit better. Journalism is a new Joint programme with Loyalist College, where for specific periods of time you travel back and forth from each Univeristy. You do some work in class and some in the field. It is like CO-OP.  In the Journalism programme, they teach you all forms of media and provide you with apprenticeship opportunities.
Finally, one of the best things is that you can do a Joint Double Major in Journalism with any other programme of your choosing. This is something that I am highly considering because not only will I earn more credentials, it will provide me with more career opportunities. By the end you receive a Joint-Major Honours (B.A or B.Sc) and an Ontario college advanced diploma in Journalism. It is the equivalent of 7 years of credentials all compiled into 4 years of study.

By the end of the day I was inspired to start planning my University journey. I can't wait to start applying and attend another University Open House.