Honours Bachelor of Commerce
Thunder Bay, ON

My name is Sarah and I was born and raised here in the beautiful city of Thunder Bay. I am currently entering my second year at Lakehead University in Business, and prior to that, did one year of Nursing. Though I was accepted to many universities in Ontario, I decided to stay in Thunder Bay because I truly do love this city. We have the big city amenities with shopping, a movie theater, nightlife and fun events, but also the gorgeous scenery and a small town feel. I had also heard many great things about Lakehead University, including their amazing professors and small class sizes.  It is safe to say I was not disappointed! Between making great friends, the fun and supportive professors, and the beautiful campus, my first two years at Lakehead have been amazing. I have had some amazing professors who truly do care about my success, and some who have even met me after class to help me out on content I did not fully understand! I also got the great opportunity to volunteer with Student Accessibility as a note taker, go to some awesome sports games (the hockey games are my favourite!) and join in on a couple events put on by the Business Association. These events can be a great way to make friends, and make the most of your university years.

In the end, I highly suggest coming to Lakehead University – not because I myself decided to come here, but because I truly believe it is a great school. I can’t thank the University enough for guiding me through the path to my future. As I made my journey from a Nursing to a Business student (a big change!), they were always supporting me. I went through a hard time deciding what program to switch to, but found a lot of help in the faculty at Lakehead. Whether it is my professors working one-on-one with me to understand this completely new content, Student Success for helping to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, or my wonderful classmates by my side, I’ve never been alone here! Think of Lakehead like one big family – always supporting, encouraging, and cheering on each other! 

Natural Science, Concurrent Education
Listowel, ON

"I chose Lakehead initially for the program they offered me. When I visited Lakehead, I fell in love with the campus, the people and staff that are always ready and willing to help students which made my choice so much easier to make! All of my professors were helpful in seeing me succeed in my classes and were very knowledgeable in their subject area. And if my professors were not in their classroom teaching or helping students, they were always approachable in their offices with an open door policy.

My student career was enriched with being a member of the Student Ambassador volunteer program and then the new LEAD volunteer program through the Student Success Centre (SSC). The SSC is staffed with amazing people to assist students with all their questions and make the university a more understandable place to live, learn and explore.

I feel that my future as a future Lakehead graduate is full of potential!  Between the staff and professors, I have learned how to look at problems more objectively while maintaining an outside the box approach and keeping my own creative spin and self-confidence. I am proud to be part of the Lakehead family!"

Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation (Parks & Tourism)
East Gwillimbury, ON

I chose to come to Lakehead for the Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Tourism program and for the beautiful Thunder Bay campus. This program is absolutely fantastic and unlike any other. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in ORPT and have learned more than I could have imagined. ORPT has a great sense of community. Students of all year levels and professors not only know you by name, but also, are willing to take the time to know you as a person.

In Outdoor Rec, we have a really unique opportunity to go on backcountry camping trips with professors and classmates. This makes for a tight-knit community that supports each other. These trips have happened on local, national, and international levels. For me, one of the highlights of my university career has been the Battlefield Tourism trip to the Western Front in Europe. We had the opportunity to travel to battlefields sites from WWI and WWII and conducted research on how these sites were managed and presented. I was able to take what I had learned in many other courses and pull it all together in this fourth year course. It not only was a great academic opportunity but a personal one as well. 

Another highlight was combining work on my undergraduate thesis with my summer employment at Ontario Parks. It was a great experience working with the Park system to reach my goals. I learned about the entire research process and had great networking opportunities.  

My experience at Lakehead has been phenomenal and I am proud to be a Rec'er. This program has challenged me academically, physically, and mentally, and in the end it is all worth it. My challenges varied from sleeping in a qhinzhee in the middle of February and lighting a fire without matches to completing an undergraduate thesis and working on projects with local communities. Opportunities at Lakehead University – particularly in ORPT – are what you make of it and, if you so choose, your adventure awaits you.

HBOR with Entrepreneur Certificate
Stittsville, ON

"Without even visiting Thunder Bay, I showed up at the Lakehead Campus for my first day of Orientation week with so many expectations. No one from my hometown was going to Lakehead that year so I was completely on my own. I chose Lakehead because of the Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism (ORPT) program itself. I believe that it is the professors and the content of the lectures and labs that make the program special, not to mention the university environment. ORPT interested me over other similar programs at different universities. Then I spoke to friends and family who had gone to Lakehead and they continued to share stories and traditions that Lakehead carries, unique to any other secondary educational experience. The dog sledding on campus and traditional sweat lodges are things students should take advantage of because those are the things that make Lakehead different.

I love my program; everyone has so much passion and respect for the outdoors! Professors and fellow students appreciate good weather and carry on lectures outdoors on those special days - so refreshing! The content is a great balance between active, outdoor time and study, theory time. The Leadership, Parks and Tourism aspects of the program are clearly defined and contribute to the program in a practical way so students can either specialize or continue to learn about all the areas depending on their goals. The labs are the best part; once I tried skate skiing, I immediately fell in love with the sport and shared it with my family - something I would never have had the chance to if it wasn't for the program (same goes for rock climbing and ice climbing). Plus, the professors are inspiring and motivational; they know me by my first name, my aspirations goals and intentions upon receiving my diploma. Fellow students are all experienced in their own way, since there are so many directions you can go in Outdoor Recreation, there is so much knowledge and talent to be shared amongst one another.

Lakehead is right for me because the university shares the same love and respect for the outdoors as I do. With so many hiking, cross-country skiing, biking, running trails to explore, the time I spend in Thunder Bay never gets dull. Lakehead provides students with the information and opportunity to take advantage of what Thunder Bay has to offer, not only its beautiful landscape but the fresh produce, unique shops, cafes, breakfast destinations and of course the saunas! The campus itself is the perfect size to get from one class to another, back home and then to work. Lakehead University and its students are both so unique to the city of Thunder Bay, it has definitely influenced the person I have become, the people and things I know and the goals I intend to pursue.

My advice to future students is to come to Lakehead with an open mind, no preconceived notions or ideas of people or places. Not only will you become educated in your program of choice but you will be given so much opportunity to develop new hobbies and activities of interest, learning more about yourself and the person you want to be. Take those opportunities, and be aware because the best ones are often the most subtle."

Honours Bachelor of Outdoor Recreation, Parks & Tourism
Wasaga Beach

I entered LU as a mature student. I had tried college a couple of times with little success. It was just not for me. Hearing of the Outdoor rec program at LU gave me hope that the third time would be the charm; and it was.

I chose LU because of the Outdoor Rec program, but also because of its location. I wanted a new experience away from my home and Thunder Bay provided a rich outdoor environment in which to learn and play. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at LU and in Thunder Bay. Those four years were very informative for me and I can trace my first step at LU to where I am today. My fellow classmates were great and the Profs were helpful and friendly. I felt I got to know many of my Profs beyond just a teacher-student relationship and would often go climbing and paddling with them. 

My education at LU allowed me to get a position with Outward Bound in Canada, the USA and Mexico as an instructor and leader of corporate development programs. I also took my LU learning further and started to teach rock and ice climbing and guide mountaineering expeditions.

I now run Summit Team Building, which I founded in 1997. We run team-building programs for corporate teams throughout Canada and in the USA. I have been teaching in the MBA and EMBA programs at the Odette school of Business, the Rotman School of Management, and the University of Edinburgh. 

I continue to guide and climb having summited Everest in 2008 and completing the 7 Summits in 2011. I currently guide ill and injured Canadian soldiers on wilderness expeditions as part of an initiative through True Patriot Love. We have been to Nepal and the North Pole and our next expedition in January of 2016 will be to climb Mt Vinson in Antarctica.

LU and the Outdoor rec program gave me more than I could have ever imagined and I don’t know where I would be today if I did not take this step.

Mechanical Engineering
Markham, ON

I originally studied at George Brown College and chose to transfer to Lakehead University because it gave me the flexibility to complete my degree in two years after receiving my Advanced Diploma. I struggled in my first year here and ran into academic challenges. It was at this time that I met Dr. Birbal Singh who reassured me and helped me regain a focus for my studies.

While at Lakehead I joined the Engineering Student Society (ESS). Through this I gained invaluable extra-curricular experience and began life-long friendships with many people from the profession. Lakehead has given me the opportunity to make these connections with people from all over Canada and the world.  

I believe Lakehead has given me the tools to succeed. Upon graduation I intend to attain my complete Professional Engineering Status as well as seek new opportunities to grow my knowledge and skill set.

Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical)
Markham, ON

I originally came from George Brown College and chose Lakehead University because it gave me the flexibility to complete my degree in two years after receiving my Advanced Diploma.  I attended university soon after my father passed away and moving away from my family and friends was hard.  I struggled my first year here and ran into academic challenges.  It was at this time that I met Dr. Birbal Singh who helped me regain a focus for my studies.  He reassured me that this was just a mis-step through academics but, that at the end I would be fine in the profession and because of this I am now well on my way to accomplishing my goal in graduating in Engineering.  While at University I joined the Engineering Student Society of Lakehead University.  Through this I gained invaluable extra curricular experience as well as began life long friends with many people from the profession.  For me, making meaningful connections is important not only for now but also to help in the future and Lakehead has given me the opportunity to make these connections with people from all over Canada as well as all over the world.  (Which means for me that I have a place to stay wherever I go).

 Being a soon to be graduate I used to be anxious about what comes next but I believe Lakehead has given me the tools to help me succeed as well as push the boundaries of my success to heights I did not think possible before.  For all the mis-steps and learning curves I have experienced at Lakehead I would not change any of them as it has given me new learning opportunities.  Upon graduation I intend to attain my complete Professional Engineering Status as well as seek new opportunities to grow my knowledge and skill set.

Honours Bachelor of Psychology and Philosophy
Thunder Bay, ON

I first signed up for the course because I have a background in tourism from Confederation College, as well as a personal interest in history and travel. I didn’t know too much about the World Wars specifically, and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn as well as to see some of Europe. Quite frankly, I had absolutely no comprehension of how altering this would be for me. It was one of the most emotionally upheaving experiences I have ever put myself through, and I don’t for a moment regret it. Seeing the memorials, cemeteries, and ceremonies that were able to visit and take part in throughout our trip, and the people we met and the towns and villages with memorials and museums dedicated to Canada… It was incredible.

 This trip contributed to my field of study only indirectly, because I am in neither tourism nor history. I knew that signing up. I’m doing a double major in Psychology and Philosophy, and I wanted to do this trip for myself. It will contribute to my field of study because it has contributed to the shaping of my character and my view of the world, and as far as I’m concerned there is nothing more relevant to true education than that. 

I was also able to contribute personally by writing a blog:

http://4370battlefieldtourism.blogspot.fr to both chronicle our excursion, and to track our emotional and academic responses to the sites we visited and the experiences we had. 

It was an incredible, emotional, and a life-defining trip. It was very moving, and also a gut-wrenching reminder of how lucky we are by nothing more than an accident of birth and timing. This is our country’s history, and our lineage, and our reminder. I would recommend this trip to anyone, lest we forget. 

HBASc Graduate - Orillia Campus
Orillia, ON

"I chose the Orillia Campus because I felt assured that I was going to have excellent academic support and guidance. I also liked the idea of a small "new" campus. Going back to school at my age seemed a bit daunting at a big and impersonal campus. Here at the Orillia Campus - you can have a very real and personal connection to professors and staff.

You really need to look at what is a good fit for you scholastically/academically and professionally. Four years is a big investment in your future - a smaller campus may help the transition to university life. Professors who take a keen interest and are invested in your future and academic preparation are vital and can most definitely be found at Lakehead University- Orillia Campus

I have had the best year of my life - academically, personally and emotionally. I have been able to achieve very competitive grades for admission to Med School with the help of my dedicated professors. I have made wonderful friendships. The entire time I have spent at Lakehead has been most fulfilling and rewarding. I couldn't get a better preparatory school for my further studies in medicine.