Nick Yang is from Beijing, China’s capital. With approximately 20 million people, it’s one of the most populated cities in the world.
“It’s a huge city,” he said. “Very crowded.”
But Nick was done with being crowded. That’s why in August of 2014, he chose to study English as a Second Language (ESL) at CNC’s Prince George campus.
“I wanted to go somewhere comfortable,” he said.
Nick loved Prince George immediately. After living there for just a few months, he knew he wanted to stay indefinitely.
“I really like the local community and I really like the environment,” he said. “I like to exercise and ski, so it’s perfect. I was planning on transferring to Vancouver or Victoria, but quickly chose not to.”
A huge part of Nick being so comfortable in the city is because of his time studying English at CNC.
He said learning English in China was so different than learning in Canada.
Students in CNC’s ESL program receive a lot of support and encouragement, he said, and the staff do a really good job of making sure they feel comfortable.
“The ESL program is really great,” he said. “Students come from many different countries. The program helps us get to know each other, while also adjusting well to the local community and our classes.”
After two semesters, Nick completed the final level of the ESL program and transferred into CNC’s Business Management program, graduating in May 2018.
He figured it was a smart career move as business, in one form or another, is involved with almost everything, he said.
After taking ESL at CNC, Nick had no problem getting a job. The store manager of Andre’s was friends with a staff member at CNC and asked if there were any good candidates available for hire. Nick’s name was put forward, he applied and was hired.
Now part of the local community, Nick has no plans to leave Prince George.
“I might go back to school for another program,” he said. “Maybe law?”