After each class of South students graduate each year, the majority of the students are found to be moving on to college and continuing their academic career at one of the many universities in the United States. However, one South graduate in particular, Ian Plansker ‘20, had a different idea on how he wanted to spend the next four years of his life after leaving high school.
Plansker made the decision to attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, a place where he hopes to meet good friends and continue to study the things that he enjoys.
“A main part of why I chose McGill is because of the city that it is located in,” Plansker said. “After spending some time in Montreal, I knew that it would be a place that I would very much enjoy living in.”
One worry that Plansker had before embarking on his journey abroad was whether or not there would be many other American students attending McGill, and whether or not he would fit in as a foreigner at a Canadian university.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived, in that I found plenty of American students who were having the same hesitations as me,” Plansker said. “Finding fellow Americans in the same situation as me instantly made me much more comfortable in this daunting situation.”
Before beginning his time at McGill, Plansker was wondering if there would be some kind of cultural difference between himself and Canadian students, and the fact that he was to be attending a university in a French-speaking province in the nation only amplified those thoughts.
“I was slightly worried about a cultural difference between the Canadian students and me, but I soon was embraced by them, as they were all very kind to me in the beginning,” Plansker said. “I guess the stereotype of Canadians being nice really did hold up in this situation.”
After spending time in both the United States and Canada, Plansker has had time to analyze both cultures, and decide for himself if there are any key differences or similarities between the two neighboring countries.
“I do think that both the United States and Canada are very similar, but there is something different about Canada,” Plansker said. “I can just feel it when I’m walking down the street, but I can’t quite articulate exactly what it is.” “It’s just this feeling that I get.”
After graduating from McGill, Plansker will have to make the decision as to whether or not he will continue to live in Canada, move back to the United States, or if he will choose to live elsewhere. Plansker is currently heavily considering the latter.
“I plan to move to Europe after college,” Plansker said. “The early music scene is far more developed in countries like England and the Netherlands.” Living in Europe would be very important to Ian so that he can be closer to the thing that he loves and wants to be more involved in.