Eisha Dogra heard about the College of New Caledonia and its human resources management post-diploma program through a travel agent in her native India.
At the time, she was told it was one of the best college programs of its kind in Canada, and that helped Dogra make up her mind to come to Prince George in the dead of winter.
It certainly wasn't the weather. She's from Jalandhar, India, in the province of Punjab, a city of 927,000 people, where even on the coldest winter day, the temperature rarely drops below freezing.
"Snow bothers me a lot, I do not love winter, that's one of the major reasons which depresses me about Canada," said the 25-year-old Dogra. "I don't feel like going outside when it's cold and the sun sets too soon in winter."
Climate concerns aside, Dogra has nothing but good things to say about her year of studying in Canada. She's one of nine students from India who are two tests away from completing the year-long program at CNC.
"I was told it was one of the best colleges for furthering my human resources diploma goals and it has given me more than what I expected," Dogra said. "I really love people and I really want to understand how they pursue their professions. It's all about communications skills and this is the field that really makes me comfortable."
Dogra came to Canada with an undergraduate degree in English. To qualify for the CNC program, the students had to have a minimum two-year post-secondary diploma. The majority of the nine students hold university degrees in arts, sciences or commerce programs.
Fluent in Punjabi and Hindi, Dogra's English skills have improved considerably over the past year. The program's emphasis on group studies and assignments gave her confidence as a public speaker, which she considers essential in fulfilling her career ambition to work with people as a manager or supervisor.
The program also opened the door to work experience opportunities. After six months in Canada, international students are eligible to apply for work permits, which Dogra received in August, and that led to a job at the Opa Greek restaurant in the Pine Centre Mall food court.
"That taught me time management and how to deal with customers and how to be patient with them, and above all, I have learned interpersonal skills," said Dogra.
She plans to work at her current job for another six or seven months before she moves on to a masters program in human resources at UNBC.
"Prince George is a lovely place, with lovely people and CNC is really special to me -- all of the staff are so friendly," she said. "It was because of CNC I had the opportunity to come here and I've met so many friends."
The 10-subject, three-semester program included courses on compensation and benefits, employment law, and human rights. It had 30 students in 2011, including several from Nigeria. International enrollment at CNC took a 15 per cent jump this fall, with 247 international students studying in the fall semester, including 30 from India and 140 from China.
"I think all of [the international students] wanted the opportunity to study abroad and they chose to come here because the program met their interest in providing adaptive training on human resources management," said Anne Harris, operations manager for CNC international education program.
