The Founder of Loy Excellentia Initiative, Nigerian-Canadian professor, Dr. Aloy Anyichie has highlighted the importance of celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of black people and black communities in Canada.
At the event, organised by Loy Excellentia Initiative on 24th February to mark Black History Month in Canada held at Brandon University and Assiniboine Community College, Brandon, Manitoba, Anyichie said that the celebrations “reminds us that Africans are born to be successful and excel wherever they find themselves and the need to rise together as one”. He explained how his challenges as an international student at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver as well as his award of the best PhD dissertation in Educational Psychology in the whole of Canada in 2019 were instrumental to his founding this initiative.
He further said: “Reflecting on my journey as a PhD student, the challenges and opportunities, especially the mentorship experiences and how they shaped the future that I am living today, I thought that it would be wonderful to create opportunities for African/Black Students to be able to gain the support they need to excel. I hate seeing someone experiencing a similar challenge I have navigated. That is the spark for the founding of Loy Excellentia Initiative”.
President of the Brandon University Students’ Union, Chukwuanugo Okudo acknowledged the challenges faced by newcomers, particularly in accessing health care.
“Our big concern has been health care and we have done our best to write to ministers, advocating that international students have the health card once more. Cost of medications and doctor consultations has been perceived as having a considerable monetary impact, leading to concerns about paying out-of-pocket for these services”, he said.
Okudo highlighted the reluctance of some international students to seek medical assistance due to the perceived financial burden, especially for checkups or prescriptions, adding: “We’ve done our best to send out letters and have meetings with some of the ministers and we are still hoping to get some meaningful response. But for new investor students, we do have a student VIP health plan that we still offer to students, both domestic and international, to help cover some parts of the insurance”.
The President of African Students Club Association, Mubarak Adewunmi expressed his excitement about the Black history celebration. He, also, emphasised the challenges faced by newcomers, including housing, language barriers, transportation, and socialization.
He was motivated to address these challenges at council meetings, after he gathered feedback from students, sending weekly newsletters to inquire about their challenges and how they want better representation.
“There has been progress, possibly due to pre-existing initiatives, in completing bus stops, checking routes for additional buses and housing…Currently, there’s an initiative on housing, where a survey has been sent to students to understand their housing challenges and what the school can do. These were concerns raised in council meetings, and I’m pleased to see that action is being taken”, Adewunmi said.
Brandon’s first Black councillor, Sunday Frangi said there is a need for excellence and unity among Black students. He encouraged them to aim to be successful knowing that “to have something you don’t have; you need to do something you never did”.
Brandon Mayor, Jeff Fawcett commended the Loy Excellentia Initiative, and expressed joy in welcoming students from around the world to Brandon, whether at the college or the university, noting a significant change in this trend over the last generation.
“Many individuals come here seeking educational opportunities, and what initiatives like Loy Excellentia do is provide a better chance to establish connections… It helps students feel comfortable more quickly, giving them someone to talk to and encouraging involvement in the broader community”, he said.
Fawcett said that that creates a base of people with whom students feel connected, enabling them to be more adventurous and engaged in the community, which is critical.
Vice President of Commercial Financial Services at Royal Bank of Canada, Richard Azinwi shared his own experiences as an international student in Canada about 20 years ago. He encouraged the students to always look out for mentors and never allow the mentorship opportunities created by Loy Excellentia to elude them.
The event was attended by over 50 African students, including the Dean of the Faculty of Education at Brandon University, Dr. Alysha Farrell; Fawcett; Councillor Jason Splett; Frangi; and Azinwi.
It started with the land acknowledgement and opening prayer by Anyichie , who is also an assistant professor of educational psychology at Brandon University.
In her welcome message, Farrell expressed her excitement about co-hosting the event that brings together Black students happening in Brandon University’s Faculty of Education building.
This initiative was founded to empower African students to excel through mentorship and support programmes. It has three major components – mentorship, workshops, and social events.
