NSCC Alumni presents at the World Congress!

My name is Jane Rovers and I am a graduate of the Nova Scotia Community College. I graduated from the Graphic Design program in 2010 and currently work as a freelance graphic designer and artist. This week I had the great fortune of participating in a panel at the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics World Congress. The panel topic was Students and International Development and the presenters included myself, Nikki Comeau, Paul Manning and Samantha Young, led by NSCC International Director Katie Orr.

In 2009 I participated in a documentation mission in Tanzania with NSCC International. I was the photographer assigned the task of documenting a group of human service students as they worked with Kimara Peer Educators and Health Promoters, an NGO working with a low income community in Dar es Salaam. My experience in Tanzania has had a profound effect on my life in many ways, some are obvious and some more subtle. It was a multilayered experience with many levels of learning. The spectrum of things that we learned included how to travel to Africa with a group of strangers! We learned to navigate the streets of Dar es Salaam, experienced new foods and customs and learned to adapt to our new environment. On the other side of the spectrum we learned about AIDS and HIV, addiction, orphans and poverty from individuals experiencing and working with these issues. Unique to Nikki and I were on the job lessons in documentary making and creating ethical images.

International learning compliments any field of study and provides students an opportunity to see the world and gain some very valuable life and work skills. The education I received from my experience in Tanzania could never have been taught to me in a classroom or learned from reading a textbook. I also believe that the same experience could not have been achieved had I travelled to Tanzania on my own. The partnerships that NSCC International have created were invaluable to myself and my fellow students. Our partners in Tanzania are exceptional teachers who were as eager as we were to participate in a learning exchange.

Three years later I am still learning and growing from my experience in Tanzania. It has influenced the way I interact with my work, my family and my community. It has also provided me many additional opportunities to learn and challenge myself. In August 2009 I presented at a Me to We Take Action Academy along with two NSCC instructors. In 2010 I completed my second work term for NSCC International by interviewing a few of the students that I had travelled with in Tanzania. I was interested to know how their international experience was affecting them one year later. Also in 2010 I was invited to photograph the Nova Scotia Gambia Associations annual dinner and auction. Of course my most recent learning opportunity was presenting at the world congress on Tuesday, where I met some inspiring fellow colleagues who also shared stories about their amazing learning adventures in Africa.

While presenting was a wonderful (and terrifying) experience, the highlight of the world congress for me was listening to Stephen Lewis speak. Mr. Lewis has become one of my life heros. I admire him greatly for his advocacy for women all over the world, most notably his work with African grandmothers. Having met grandmothers in Tanzania who had benefited directly from his foundations small business loan program I felt a special connection as I listened to him speak. His presentation was as inspiring as I imagined it would be. It's a moment I will keep tucked in my mind forever.

I am very happy to maintain an alumna relationship with NSCC International as I am so proud of the work they do and the educational opportunities they provide the students and staff at NSCC. Thanks for giving me another opportunity to share and learn.

Jane Rovers
NSCC Graphic Design Graduate
Waterfront Campus