First-year students start new semester at Cambrian with excitement, anxiety, concern

After a holiday break, students at Cambrian College in Greater Sudbury begin their new semester this week. For new students that may mean excitement mixed with anxiety, with some lingering concerns.

During orientation week there were a number of events and activities to help first year students feel welcomed and at ease about this next chapter.

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At a help desk just inside the front lobby, staff and volunteers were available to answer any questions first year students had.

“I think students are just naturally nervous first day. but after finding and talking to our staff we put them at ease,” said liaison officer Samuel Paquette.

“We help them find where they're going. They really come out with a big smile on their face. They really are happy to be here, and they feel a sense of community here at Cambrian.”

For international students that means a new country, new culture and new ways of doing things.

Laviel Williams, originally from Jamaica, just moved to Sudbury from Toronto to study nursing. She said despite being nervous and excited, she wanted to get questions answered before classes started.

“Where do you find your classes, what is your schedule – it’s going to be very important. and I want to hit the ground running,” she said.

But there is another concern looming for students this semester: a possible strike by college faculty.

“I had a little bit of a pit in my stomach because there's that uncertainty. you don't really know what your future might be looking like with a strike or how long it will last,” Williams said.

“So, I was thinking about that and I just decided, you know what, I'm already here. I'm going to work with it.”

Officials at Cambrian provided some advice for students who were apprehensive about starting the semester with this uncertainty looming.

“Continue with your plans to start your studies in the winter semester. if anything changes, we will let you know,” said Director of Communications, Dan Lessard

“We're updating them regularly. We put out an email to them yesterday just before the start of the semester. We have information on our website saying this is the situation as we know it. Here's how the college could be affected.”

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Classes for both first-year and returning students start Tuesday at Cambrian. If a strike does go ahead by college faculty, the earliest that could happen is Thursday.