Submitted by Ining Chao, Associate Dean, International Education
SLC’s Early Childhood Education Joint Program at Lianyungang Normal College (LNC) welcomed a group of new students and bid farewell to the first cohort of graduates in April 2021.
The inaugural cohort of graduates completed their program in July 2020. They returned to campus to receive their SLC diploma and to share with current students about their journey.
The 22 new students transferred from other academic programs to the ECE program after passing the entrance exam and were interviewed by the faculty during the selection process. They will now join the 25 students from the fall 2020 intake to begin their study. This is the largest first-year cohort since the program launched in 2017.
Hongxing Ding, VP Academic of LNC, hosted the ceremony and congratulated the graduates on their achievements and encouraged the new and current students to put their best efforts in their study. SLC was represented by Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, VP International Education, and Ining Chao, Associate Dean, International Education, who delivered remarks by video.
"SLC is well known in Canada and around the world for our high-quality education and student-centred philosophy in all our programming and services," Shelley said in her remarks. "We ranked top three among Ontario’s colleges for graduate employment outcome. Graduates from the Early Childhood Education program work in many early childhood centres in our communities and schools. They play an important role in educating our children and supporting healthy and happy families. The first cohort of the joint program graduates is joining the workplace in China. I am very proud of this achievement as the result of our collaborative effort over the past four years."
"I think a key lesson from the past year is that we live in a global community. We need to take care of each other," Ining said. "As an ECE professional, you have the responsibility to instill the value of community, resilience in your practice. I encourage to take this lesson to heart as you continue your study and explore your career options."
The ceremony was followed by a Q&A forum where an SLC representative in China answered students’ questions about St. Lawrence College.