An overview of Vic’s new student programming: “Gather in Goldring” and Senior International and Transition Mentor Programs.
In the 2024-2025 academic year, the Goldring Student Centre has introduced a new program: “Gather in Goldring.” They have also increased programming from Senior Transition and International Mentors.
From Monday to Friday, from 12:30-2:30 p.m., Vic students can congregate in the Wendy Cecil Atrium at the Goldring Student Centre for a complimentary lunch and rotating features of Vic resources from the Office of the Dean of Students, the Office of the Registrar, and Academic Advising. This lively student space has been an important part of many Vic students’ adjustment to university life; working to foster their emotional, social, academic, and professional well-being.
This development goes hand-in-hand with the upscaling of International Mentor(IM) and Transition Mentors(TM) programming. This year, Senior International Mentor and Senior Transition Mentor groups are offering two weekly programs through “Gather in Goldring”, and one monthly excursion geared towards international and first-year students.
Senior International Mentor, Nadine Consunji, shared that: “IMs are supposed to be a familiar face that first-year international students can see on a semi-regular basis to touch base with or ask questions about advice and student life at Victoria College.” International students, especially first-years, often face serious isolation at university. This programming works to ensure that students can bond and have community spaces and resources specifically geared toward their experiences.
Their bi-weekly programs serve various international foods, including dumplings, bánh mì, pandesal, and hosia. This is part of an effort to connect international students to their home cultures. The IM programmers understand the intense significance of food as a connection to home and family and believe that food has the potential to produce a remarkable sense of comfort and familiarity, especially as a communal experience.
The monthly excursions run by Senior IMs and TMs for first-years and international students intend to broaden Vic students’ comfort levels with the city environment and help them learn about new city spaces and resources that could play an important role in their futures at the college.
In SIM Nadine Consunji’s words, these programs work to create and maintain “a sense of comfort, support, and familiarity from the wider Vic community”—especially where that sense can be lacking. Despite this, many Vic students remain unaware of this programming. “I’ve never heard of the program,” said a first-year student at Vic when interviewed. “I wish I had earlier. I feel like no one knows about it.” Students are encouraged to continue taking advantage of these new resources and to share them with their peers.
