The impact of my year in the Trent in Ghana program can hardly be put into words. Suffice it to say that the experience has left an indelible mark that divides my life into before and after. My year in Ghana not only provided me with a context and greater insight into the theories I had learnt in Canadian classrooms, but it allowed me the freedom that I needed to develop personally into an strong, independent person. Although difficult at times, the experience challenged me to question my values and grow from my new perspectives and the valuable lessons I learnt from my Ghanaian friends have awarded me a deeper appreciation for life, community and relationships that will stay with me forever.
After completing three years at McGill, I was attracted to the Trent in Ghana program because of the commitment Trent kept to academic excellence even while providing classes in another country. As a transfer student, Trent was extremely helpful and made the administrative work easy. I did a lot of research before applying to Trent and can say with confidence that I could not find another program that offered the same high level of academics and community-integrated internship experiences at such a reasonable cost. The program is design to provide the student with support while still fostering the growth and independence needed to understand the complexities and beauty of living in Ghana. The program pushes its students to challenge their personal boundaries, to experience new things, forge bonds across cultures, question and explore.
The experiences I gained, over two years ago from the Trent in Ghana program have helped me to pursue my career goals. The internship was an opportunity for valuable field experience that I would never have gained if I stayed in Canada. The work I did in Ghana helped me to win a CIDA internship with the Canadian and African Businesswomen’s Association in Tanzania, where I continued to work for the last year as a business development officer. My time in Tanzania was amazing, but can never compare to the experiences I had in Ghana because of the design and dynamics of the Trent in Ghana program. I cannot recommend the program enough and envy all the students who take off every year to participate in a program that no other experience will be able to parallel.