International students Dania Mohammed Elamin and Amara Khit may be from different countries, studying different subjects and even learning on different campuses at York University, but they share a common goal: self-improvement and connection.
Through York International’s English Conversation Partners Program (ECPP), now in its seventh cohort, Elamin and Khit formed a peer mentorship bond that helped them both grow.
The program, which has supported 475 international and domestic students, pairs volunteer mentors with participants to practise English conversation and build community.
Elamin, a second-year applied mathematics student, served as mentor for Khit, a second-year financial technologies student studying at York’s Markham Campus.
“From the outside [it appears] we're very different, but then you find similarities in these differences, which is a bonding point and is really nice,” says Elamin.
Their conversations touched on personal experiences, including family and the impact of conflict happening in their home countries – Sudan for Alamin and Myanmar for Khit. The pair met weekly in York spaces, such as the Keele Campus cafeteria or library. Occasionally, they joined other “conversation pairs” or explored the campus.
Khit discovered ECPP through Instagram and joined to overcome her nervousness about speaking English. ”I thought, that's a good opportunity. I'll just join,” she recalls.
After completing the program, she noticed a significant boost in confidence and now recommends the program to others. “Especially to those like me, who are not confident in English, it's a great experience,” she says.
Khit has since taken on several new activities, such as working as a peer mentor for her financial technologies program, becoming an orientation leader and offering support to others through her role as a student success mentor and life assistant.
Elamin, who previously studied in South Africa and Spain, understands the challenges of being a newcomer. “I know how hard it is when you don't know how to speak the language or how to find a community and integrate with people,” she says. Her first year at York felt lonely, but ECPP helped her engage more actively in campus life.
She also used the mentorship experience to develop facilitation skills. “If there was a moment of silence, I'm the one responsible to break that silence to start a conversation,” she says of being paired up with a mentee. “It gives you confidence in your ability to facilitate something, to start talking and develop communication skills.”
That benefit is by design, says Nikita Cruz, international student experience coordinator. “We wanted to create more than just a traditional conversation program but something designed with reciprocal learning in mind,” she says. “ECPP breaks the traditional power dynamic and challenges the notion that international students only want to receive information. The leadership development is an intentional part of the program.”
Elamin’s experience with ECPP helped her secure on-campus employment – first, as a summer support assistant in the Lassonde School of Engineering' Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department, and now, as a program administrative assistant in the Career Centre’s Work Study Portfolio.
“Honestly, I do recommend it to anyone,” says Elamin. “It's a lot of fun, and you get to learn a lot about yourself as well along the way.”
With files from Suzanne Bowness