by Glen Herbert

Davee Dai ’17 arrived at RLC in 2013 from Chongqing, one of China’s “Three Furnaces,” cities known for their oppressive heat. With temperatures regularly in the 40s, it can get so hot that rain evaporates before it hits the ground. When I spoke with Davee about her first impressions, she says, “I never knew that in Canada it snowed so much.” Any snow was remarkable, having never seen it before. “And it was so cold!”

We tend not to think about the stark differences between the students’ home countries and life on the lake, but that’s one reminder. Davee came from what is effectively a desert city to Muskoka, which is neither. We also tend not to think of what it’s like to travel so far at such a young age. The students who arrive from overseas each, in their way, do something that many of us would find challenging even as adults. They leave home and friends, entering an environment that, often, requires them to engage with others in their second or third languages.

What’s striking is, as with Davee, that they speak of it in such calm tones. Getting on a plane alone at age 12 seems courageous, but she dismisses that. “It just happened,” she says. “My parents wanted me to experience a different culture, a new learning experience. They just asked me one day if I wanted to study abroad, and I said, ‘Sure.’ ” She mentions that her favourite singer at the time was Avril Lavigne, which seemed like a nice connection to Canada. Otherwise, “It was kind of random to be honest.” Perhaps the mystery of it all, and casting fate to the wind, was itself a motivator.

The backbone of the Rosseau community

There were a lot of firsts. She was greeted at the airport in Toronto by someone she’d never met, a guardian who had been assigned through an agency. From the airport she was driven out of Toronto and into another world next to a lake in Muskoka. She’d never canoed before, but within a week, she was on an outtrip with others from around the world, becoming a part of a new community.

Despite the circumstances surrounding her arrival, Davee found RLC to be a source of confidence and identity. The school, she says, helped her to establish her personal brand and to grow as a confident person, something she feels is particularly true for international students. “You won’t be afraid to speak a foreign language in front of strangers because you will be given chances to make public speeches in front of the school. And teachers always encouraged you to do different things. There was the polar bear dip. … I think all those aspects, it really helps you be open minded and not afraid of trying new things.”

Where friends become family

I ask her who on the staff or faculty she recalls as being essential to that experience. “I have so many good memories of the teachers there,” she says, but “Mr. Beaulne and Miss Bissonette, I think they’re like the backbone of the Rosseau community.” They and others, “really have a family feeling … which I find very hard to find now when you get into the real world, or the adult world. I think that’s something that’s really precious about Rosseau.” Yes, academics are important, but community is the thing that helps us grow. For her, it’s what “helped me to build confidence to become the person that I am today.”

At RLC, Davee became the first international student to be elected Head Prefect. Afterward, she went to Queen’s for a degree in applied economics, then the Schulich School of Business for a graduate degree in marketing and business management. She was also brand manager for the Schulich Marketing Association. That took her through the pandemic and out the other side, entering the workforce in 2022. Today she manages trade with Global Food and Ingredients in Toronto. She is responsible for the Chinese market, so she’s up in the middle of the night, working in time with the markets there.

“It’s an interesting journey,” she says, referencing the journey not only to this point, but to the path ahead. “I find it very challenging, but I’m learning a lot so far.”

I ask Davee what advice she’d give to students who, like she did, are coming to Canada and Rosseau for the first time. “I would say, just be open,” she says. “Just chill. Because I totally understand parents and students can get anxious. Especially when they’re first going to a foreign country. But I don’t think there’s much point of worrying about things that you don’t know. Relax, be open minded.”

The phrase “where friends become family” is an important one, especially this time of year. Closing Day is rimed with possibility, with everyone anticipating the adventures they are going to have. Some will be back, but for the graduates, on Closing Day they step out into the world. They’ll move on to different experiences and, for some, very different places. It’s a journey. “And whatever comes,” says Davee, “just take it. Experience it. It’s a learning path. That’s the only advice I would give.”