Every summer, we welcome students from around the world to our junior programs in Canada and Australia. They may come to improve their English or French and experience another country, but after years of working with junior students, I believe what they take home goes much further.
A well-designed junior program creates a safe environment for young people to step outside their comfort zones. For some, it may be their first time away from their families, living in a residence or staying with a homestay family. For others, something as simple as learning to navigate a new city by public transit may be a completely new experience.
Through these everyday challenges, they become more confident, independent, and resourceful. This is also where leadership begins.
At this age, leadership does not necessarily mean being the person in charge. It can mean having the confidence to make a decision, finding a solution when something does not go as planned, contributing to a team or supporting a new friend who may be feeling unsure.
I saw these skills develop firsthand through ILSC Language Schools’ junior leadership program in Canada. International students experienced Canadian professional and academic life through visits to a local business, one of Canada’s leading universities and sessions with guest speakers.
Working independently and as a team, they applied their learning in real-world settings. The program culminated in a final project where students brought their learning together, highlighting their problem-solving skills, creativity, and innovation.
Experiences like these allow young people to see what they are capable of and develop the confidence to become future leaders.
But most of the important learning happens naturally through the international experience itself. When young people from different parts of the world live, learn, and explore together, they experience other cultures in a very personal way. They share meals, explore a new city together, laugh together, and discover both their differences and how much they have in common.
We see how transformative these experiences can be. After one student completed our junior program in Australia, her father wrote that they had discovered “a new girl,” someone “more confident, full of joy” and with her “head filled with dreams.”
He credited the experience of another culture, the care of her homestay family and the freedom she was given “to discover herself.”
His words capture how an international experience can change how a young person sees themselves and begin to recognize their own potential.
As national director of ILSC Language Schools’ junior programs in Canada, one of my favourite parts of every summer is watching this transformation happen. Students arrive in a new city, sometimes nervous and unsure of what to expect. Some are away from their families for the first time, hesitant to speak English or French or simply wondering whether they will make friends.
Then, little by little, you see the change. They become more comfortable speaking up, making decisions and looking out for one another. Most importantly, they form friendships with young people from around the world and learn about new cultures through those friendships.
By the end of the program, the goodbyes are always bittersweet. The same students who arrived not knowing what to expect are hugging new friends and activity leaders, exchanging contact information and often crying because they do not want the experience to end.
Those moments are incredibly heartwarming. I have had the privilege of watching their journey from beginning to end. They return home with greater independence, new friendships, unforgettable memories and, hopefully, a little more belief in what they are capable of.
For me, that is one of the greatest privileges of working in junior international education.
About the author: Vanessa Bhola, national director, juniors & corporate, ILSC Language Schools Canada, part of ILSC Education Group
Vanessa oversees ILSC Language Schools’ junior and family programs across Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver, including language, leadership, and cultural immersion experiences in homestay and university residence settings. She is passionate about creating programs where international students feel welcomed and supported, while developing confidence, independence, and leadership skills through meaningful experiences and connections with others.
