O'Connor sisters travel to Canada for college
Courtesy Photo/ Abaynesh O'Connor
After graduating high school here at Winnacunnet, senior sisters Abaynesh O’Connor and Grace O’Connor have decided to travel 614.7 miles out of New Hampshire and the United States, to the Great White North of Halifax, Canada.
Abaynesh O’Connor said she is going to study at Saint Mary's College. She said she has decided to major in business with the possibility of minoring in statistics or something that is also business related alongside her major in business.
After the tour of the campus, Abaynesh O’Connor said she knew this school was the one for her. She explained that the look and beauty of the campus and all of the kind, welcoming people who were there attending the school really attracted her more to the school than it already had.
“The school was just so pretty and I loved the campus and the people,”Abaynesh O’Connor said.
Abaynesh O’Connor said that when they had gotten and opened the acceptance letter from Saint Mary’s that it was the highlight of her whole evening.
“I got accepted on Thanksgiving,” Abaynesh O’Connor said. “I was really excited it honestly just made my day.”
Abaynesh O’Connor said that they are excited to have the new environment to explore including the beaches and secret spots locals suggest. She also explained that even though she is overwhelmingly excited about this opportunity, she is also going to miss her friends and family in the United States dearly while she is off at college. Abaynesh O’Connor said she could possibly be planning on getting hired at a big company to finance for them then depending on the job she gets, that will decide if she stays in Canada or moves back to the United States after she graduates college.
Abaynesh O’Connor said that the people she knows and has talked to have been very supportive of her decision of moving to a completely different country to study at her college of choice and she is so grateful for that
“So far everyone I’ve talked to has been excited for me,” Abaynesh O’Connor said.
Grace O’Connor is going to Dalhousie University. She said she got into their bachelor science program but has not yet chosen a specific major. Grace O’Connor explained that she chose Canada after she toured the campus and the city and believed it would be an amazing fit for her socially and academically.
“Everyone is really nice there and the area is super clean. But the main reason was to get an international education and get new experiences,” Grace O’Connor said.
She said she isn't sure what she wants to do after college, but she does know she doesn't plan on staying. She said she is going to miss the extremely supportive people in her life the most.
“I will mostly miss my friends and family,” Grace O’Connor said. “Also the beach.”
College counselor Melinda Shofner explained that not many students go out of the country, but there usually are a few. Shofner said that there's many factors that go into going out of the U.S for college, language and cost being two of the biggest. Along with that, Shofner said that many schools outside the U.S might look specific when choosing students to accept, but Canada generally is very close to the U.S in regards to how they accept students.
“Many countries do not do a holistic review like American schools and focus more on test scores and grades only,” Shofner said.
From what she has seen, Shofner said that Halifax is a popular area for U.S students to go out of the country for. Shofner said that Halifax is close by to water, while also not too far from bigger cities
“Halifax is a great city with a few colleges, right on the water,” Shofner said. “It is popular for students from the U.S.”