I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Ellen, and I grew up in northern Virginia, near Washington DC, in the United States. I will be studying graphic design at York University for the next four years.
If you’re reading this blog from somewhere in the States, and you’ve never met me, you probably have never heard of York University. York U was founded in 1959. It is located near Mississauga, in a more suburban area of Toronto, not in the downtown area. It is the second largest university in Toronto, with 46,640 students between two campuses, and third largest university in Canada.
Like I said before, if you haven’t met me and you live in the States, you’ve probably never heard of York. Explaining to people where I’m going to school has been an interesting experience. The conversation usually goes something like this:
“So, where are you going to school next year?”
“York University.”
Here, the other person usually looks confused “…It’s in Toronto,” I add.
Sometimes, they think they’ve heard of it, “You mean that college in Pennsylvania?”
“…no, it’s in Toronto.”
“Oh.” Usually, this piques people’s curiosity a bit. Sometimes, they continue to look confused. “So what are you studying?”
“Graphic Design.”
“Oh – that’s really cool. Do they… do they have a good program there?”
“Yes.”
“So why did you choose to go there and not somewhere here in the US?”
That’s a good question; here are my answers: I wanted to go to a university that had a degree in graphic design, but also offered music classes. I wanted to major in graphic design, but I’ve been playing the viola for eight years - it’s something that is very important to me. I also wanted to go to a school on the east coast of North America, and preferably in Virginia or father north. When I started searching for colleges two years ago, it became clear that there weren’t many schools that specialized in studio arts, but also had music. There are plenty of great art schools, and plenty of great music schools, but only a few that fit what I wanted.
I was griping about this to a friend of mine named Steph, who currently attends York U. She mentioned that York had a graphic design program and music program. I ended up going for a visit and feeling like York was a good fit and had what I wanted: a fairly competitive graphic design program that offered a degree with a lot of room for electives. So, those are all the reasons I am going to university in Canada.
This blog will document my adventures in Canada. The title is Tentanda Via, which means "the way must be tried" in latin. It is York university's motto, and I think it is a good motto to live by - you can't learn anything without being involved and trying new things. I'm really excited to study in another country... I just hope that I don't look too much like a gauche American.
