Incoming students’ initial thoughts on CapU and the student experience on the North Shore
Mars Palmer (he/they) // Contributor
Cameron Skorulski (he/him) // Illustrator
Bobo Nguyen, 18, sits on the concrete stairs out front of the Birch Building. He’s sitting in a group of about twelve first years, looking at his shoes. Everyone seems to be either avoiding eye contact or making strained small talk. “I don’t really know how to socially interact. I feel so awkward.” Nguyen admits, walking towards the barbeque line. Nguyen is going into their first year at Capilano’s MOPA program. “I don’t really know anyone here. I don’t think anyone in my cohort came to orientation.” Bobo stops suddenly and walks across the grass towards a third year Motion Picture Arts (MOPA) student. They exchange pleasantries and small talk before the third year wishes Nguyen well. Nguyen worked as a production assistant on a Capilano film production in high school, something they were able to accomplish through their high school film program.
Nguyen’s favorite part about the campus is how immersed in nature it is. “I like that it’s in the middle of the forest. It’s nice for air, it doesn’t feel like a prison. I find this place very… new, if that makes sense? It’s like I’m discovering everything for the first time.” Nguyen checks his phone for the time, he can’t stay long as he has to pick his sister up from the airport. He explains that his family is from Vietnam, and he moved here alone two years ago to attend highschool. They explain it as casually as the weather, taking a moment to wave and give a brief hello to another third year MOPA student they knew.
“I actually thought I dealt quite well with moving here, because I was exposed to the culture through the internet. So I don’t have that much difficulty living here.” Nguyen waves to a cheery girl standing in line, her hot pink crop top and light blue jeans an almost startling contrast to his all black grungey aesthetic.
Over by the library, two girls stare out at the busy campus, giggling and talking as if they’d known each other for ages. Marin Koshikawa moved from Japan just a week before orientation as part of Capilano’s English for Academic Purposes program. She clutches an informational folder and smiles shyly as she speaks. She was studying economics at Koshiro university in Hokkaido, and is only attending for the semester. “This university feels big. I sometimes lose my way.” Her friend nods in agreement. “But people here are so kind, I like it.” She mentions being nineteen, and her friends’ eyes light up.
“Cool, me too!” Lovedeep Kaur had not in fact known Koshikawa for ages, but rather hours. They weren’t even in any of the same classes. Kaur is attending Capilano to get her associate degree of science. “I’d like to be a doctor… but I have a fear of blood.” She laughs. “But I hope I can be a doctor, or work in the medical field.” Kaur came from Punjab in mid May, she laughs again and waves her hand in dismissal at the idea of going to school in India. “I only looked at schools in Canada. I decided on here because it had so many good reviews.” Kaur talked with her whole body, and had a permanent, carefree smile. She exuded a bold and welcoming sort of confidence. “It’s so gorgeous to see the start of a new journey.” Koshikawa nodded in agreement.
Back towards Birch, two men sit side by side on the bottom of the concrete steps. They exchange small talk, both looking out at the grass in front of them. Jonas Damstrom, twenty three, was originally from B.C., but moved to Calgary for higher education after high school. “I did a year of journalism at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), then during Covid I moved to Kimberly and worked at a juice factory.” Juice factory worker seemed like a fictional job, like puzzle piece counter or shoe cobbler. His friend raises his eyebrows in mild surprise. He laughs dryly,“Working at the juice factory sucked, I wanted to do more writing stuff in the film industry.” He decided on Capilano’s film program for the same reason many do: its broad range of hands-on learning. “I like that you get a little bit of everything.” Damstrom agrees with Nguyen’s perspective of the campus, “I’ve never been to a campus that’s like a forest! I’ve never hiked to class before.” He laughs.