By Elaine Smith

Most students from Mongolia looking to study outside the country choose Korea, Japan or the United States as their post-secondary targets, but Bolormaa Khurelbataar sought a different experience. “I dreamed of living in a happy country and I heard that both Canada and Australia were clean and happy, so I decided I’d focus on one of those two,” she said.

Bolormaa knew that she’d need a full scholarship to attend university abroad and began doing some research. She discovered that York had scholarships that would meet her needs, so she applied for the President’s International Scholarship of Excellence, a $45,000 award that is given to international students who demonstrate academic excellence, commitment to volunteer work and extracurricular activities, and leadership skills.

“My dream is to make Mongolia a better country and York is focused on sustainability, so it was a good fit for me,” said Bolormaa. “We are a classic developing country, and the world is developing so fast that we need to speed up our growth in a sustainable way.

“Starting from 9th grade, I competed in various type project proposal competitions leading my fellow classmates, including innovative ideas for improving traditional food, for better internet distribution in Mongolian rural areas, and an application that helps to develop better food plan for each individual. While I was researching these proposals, I learned about how important the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are, and that’s something for which York University is known.”

On the day she submitted her application to York, she had a technical problem with her computer, but she remained confident.

“I had a gut feeling that if I could fix the problem, I would get a scholarship.” Every day, she checked her email, hoping.

“No one in my family had been awarded a full scholarship to study in a big city,” Bolormaa said.

Given the time difference, Bolormaa received her acceptance email at 3 a.m.

“I started yelling to everyone to wake up, because I had big news.”

It was big news, indeed, for someone who had never left Mongolia previously to make the journey to Canada to study. It has been a bit of a culture shock.

“My whole life, I’ve lived in one place and was so confident, because I knew everything and everywhere,” Bolormaa said. “Here, I’m starting from zero. I was sitting on the bus and went too far because I didn’t know how to request a stop; I had to watch someone else do it. And, I’d never seen a subway before, but I now know where all the buildings are on campus and I’m having fun exploring.”

The diversity at York has also been an eye-opener.

“In Mongolia, there are only Mongolians, but it’s so diverse here that I was shocked. There are so many types of people in the world.”

Bolormaa is studying in the Bachelor of Commerce program at the School of Administrative Studies and is eager to immerse herself in university life. She has joined the Sustainability Club and hopes to elected as a first-year representative in her affiliate college, New College.

“I think I will go back to Mongolia, but, first, I want to explore how life works in developed countries,” Bolormaa said. “People here are so nice.”