Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: University of Toronto
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/061107-2709.asp

Rodeo rider feels at home at Woodsworth College

November 7, 2006

Woodsworth: A mult-generational community Nov 7/06 by Michah Rynor (about) (email)

It wasn't so long ago that Woodsworth College student Tyler Hough was competing in the Alberta rodeo scene where he accumulated numerous bumps, bruises and broken ribs.

Today, the 21-year-old, who hails from a horse farm outside Calgary, is taking advantage of U of T’s celebrated bridging program to acclimatize to campus, university and big city life as a student in the Near and Middle Eastern studies program.

Woodsworth’s Millie Rotman Shime Academic Bridging Program is for people of any age who may or may not have completed high school and want either to upgrade their coursework in preparation for higher education or, like Hough, simply to get a feel for university life. Students then seeking full-time admission to U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science must be at least 20 years old and have completed one bridging course and passed the course with a 73 per cent average. The bridging course counts as one credit towards a U of T degree.

While the bridging program may not directly affect Hough’s plans for owning a farm or working as a firefighter, it is broadening his horizons. "I found out about Woodsworth on the Internet," Hough said. "I was always interested in the University of Toronto and I felt that since I had been out of high school for so long this would help me make a nice transition back into school life."

Since starting in September, Hough has found the administration "really helpful" and the professors "great, and I’ve learned a lot already in areas such as writing and critiquing my essays and discovering the resources available to me here in terms of studying skills and workshops I can attend."

"Even taking only three courses can be overwhelming for someone like me who hasn’t been in a classroom for years. This program lets me know what the expectation level is for a student and I would say to anyone who feels apprehensive of university life to sign up for it because being on a campus like this can be really overwhelming especially if you’re thinking of jumping right into a full course load."

As well, Hough — being from a western locale where there were lots of open spaces — likes the small-town feeling of Woodsworth . "You get a real local feel here and it’s not like you’re just another number at a huge university in a big city. Woodsworth helped me get adjusted. I like the school a lot."