People of Georgian: International alumnus embraces ‘new life’ at college
Dec. 14, 2023
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The Georgian community is full of unique, inspiring perspectives —and we’re sharing them as part of an ongoing series.
People of Georgian: Meet Rhithul Roythomas
My mother told me, “You can’t predict your future.”
She was so right.
When I got accepted to Georgian, I got all my things ready, packed my suitcase… but then I couldn’t leave for Canada because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was so disappointed and sad. As time went on, I worried I’d be at home for the rest of my life and not be able to study in person.
But after 1.5 years, I finally came to Canada.
Making friends helps launch Rhithul’s ‘new life’
It was a totally new experience for me. At first it was really difficult because wearing face masks and keeping your distance from others was encouraged, so it was hard to meet new people.
Eventually I made friends from my program, and that was the first step for me of creating a new life for myself.
I also made lots of friends through playing soccer. I’m a die-hard fan of football, well, you call it soccer here, and we would go to tournaments throughout the summer.
Meeting all kinds of new people here, I’ve learned what real friendship is. A good friend should help you, stand with you no matter what, and think not just of your present but your future.
Finding independence and giving back
Here in Canada, I also had to learn how to do many things for the first time, like cooking, shopping and washing my clothes. Back home in India, I didn’t have to do those things; everything was given to me.
It made me realize how much my parents struggled to provide for me, so I studied really hard. I wanted to give them back what they gave to me.
Rhithul Roythomas, alumnus of Georgian’s Computer Systems Technician – Networking program (class of 2022) and ONEcard officer.