Fanshawe graduates fill Canada Life Place as college kicks off 2024 convocation

Thousands of Fanshawe College graduates have been filling London's Canada Life Place this week to pick up their diplomas as the school holds its annual fall convocation ceremonies.

The first of five ceremonies got underway late Tuesday morning with graduates from the Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology. Ceremonies are also being held on Wednesday, with the final taking place Thursday morning.

In all, school officials say roughly 5,550 students met all requirements to graduate and were eligible to attend convocation. 

At Tuesday morning's event, graduates CBC News spoke with expressed relief that the day had arrived, saying they were happy to be finished with their studies.

Tiffany Rutherford, a graduate of the Architectural Technology program, said she would continue her education at another university, with the goal of becoming a certified architect.

She added she wanted to make the built environment "a safer space for people who actually don't get as much recognition, sometimes. Also, to help make sure the environment becomes more sustainable."

"I'd like to go back into the healthcare and long-term facilities sector, because I know I can help a lot of people that way."

Building Information Modelling and Integrated Practice graduate, Helena Binoy, said she planned to build a career in Canada in the construction sector, and would begin looking for work in the field.

Her classmate, Basil Varghese, has the same plans. "I guess, I'll have to find some jobs regarding my core field."

Binoy and Varghese are among thousands of international students who have come to Canada to study at the college over the last several years.

In 2023 and 2024, the school was issued around 11,700 study permits, the third-highest number among Canadian post-secondary institutions. New federal caps will see that number fall by roughly 5,000 next semester, Fanshawe's president Peter Devlin said in an email to staff late last month.

Of the 3,321 graduates who had RSVP'd to attend one of the five convocation ceremonies, 78 per cent were international students, according to a college spokesperson.

Krutikkumar Patel, an Electronics and Embedded Systems Development graduate, recalled the initial challenges of studying in Canada, in particular finding part-time jobs, making new friends, and adapting to the culture and climate.

"When we came in January, it was like a snowstorm... So it was hard for us in the beginning," he said. Now graduated, he said he hoped to find a job in his field and to settle in Canada.

Patel said the new federal caps on study permits were "for the better, so that the country can (stabilize)," but he noted the larger number of international students, particularly from India, made it easier to find people to connect with.

"It was not the thing that we're feeling like we're apart from the home, and we're completely in a new country, and we'll have to adapt (to) everything. We were kind of having, like, friends from the same part of our country."

Another student, Moiz Uddin Mohammed, arrived to Canada in January for classes, and expressed disappointment that his family couldn't see him graduate in person from Practical Elements of Mechanical Engineering.

"It's a sigh of relief that we've graduated. It's a kind of accomplishment, you know, travelling thousands of miles, coming to a different country, and graduating far away from parents, family, friends," he said.

"Thanks to the college, there are livestreams available, so they are watching, probably, back home."

His classmate, Deep Arvind Bhavsar, said the influx of international students was also tough on the international students themselves in finding jobs, housing, and paying bills.

"These rules that (the) government (is) conducting, those are beneficial for the students and for the citizens as well."

Both Bhavsar and Mohammed said they would be continuing their studies elsewhere. Asked what he saw himself doing as a career in five years, Mohammed said he would just take things day by day.

"I'm a firm believer that if I tell my plans, it might not get succeeded," he said with a laugh.