Capilano University will get a new, expanded international students centre next September thanks to a $500,000 donation.
The Sheldon Trainor and Emelda Wong Centre for International Experience, named for the couple who made the donation, will be built in a renovated building attached to the school's library and include a new lounge area for international students.
The university also hopes to use the centre to encourage more local students to study abroad, something Trainor did in 1988 at the University of Copenhagen, which inspired him to choose a career in international finance. "That was a real life changer for me. It just opened my eyes in terms of international business, finance, the rest of the world," he said.
Catherine Vertesi, now vice-president of international programs at Capilano, had helped convince Trainor to study abroad as a UBC teacher, and Trainor said he approached her to give the donation in order to say thanks to his former teacher.
The new centre replaces the existing international students centre in the Birch Building, which Vertesi said the school had outgrown. The number of international students has climbed steadily in the last five years to 10 per cent of the student body from eight per cent five years ago, she added. That adds up to about 650 students this semester.
The international students enrich the learning experience for local students, she said, by adding a new perspective to classroom discussion.
tholloway@nsnews.com
