This year’s two winning “Destination BU” videos tell very different stories, but both capture the perseverance and hope that shape the International student experience at Brandon University.
The Destination BU challenge invites incoming International students to create short social-media videos that document their journey from home to BU. The contest highlights both the practical realities and the emotional experience of studying abroad, from farewells and long-haul travel to first impressions of Canada and campus. For students, it’s a chance to share glimpses of their lives at home and their travel experience with a Westman audience.
One of this year’s winning videos follows Angel Leslie Anowuru, who travelled from Nigeria to Brandon on a long, multi-stop trip that started with family goodbyes before overcoming the challenge of extended airport waits — with a few reviews of airline food along the way. The other features Ana Espinosa, who came from Mexico to study music at BU after years of determination — including two study permit refusals before finally making the trip to Canada this year.
Angel’s video brings home the length and intensity of her journey. From saying goodbye to family to navigating multiple stops on the way to Brandon, her story captures the exhaustion and patience that multi-continent travel can demand. In one especially relatable moment, she says that during a long stopover in Germany, “it felt like time wasn’t moving.” At the end, however, in a “how it started, how it’s going” moment, she says her journey on campus has been “great so far!”
Ana’s video adds another dimension to the Destination BU story: persistence over time. A cellist who began playing at age 13 and who now mixes Baroque music with traditional Mexican tunes, she was first accepted to Brandon University in 2023 after a successful audition, but had her study permit denied two years in a row before finally being able to come to Canada this year. Her video reflects both the relief of arrival and the excitement of beginning the next chapter as a music student. One of her most striking lines captures that mix of challenge and welcome: Canada received me “with the warmest people and the coldest winter I have ever had in my life.”
Each winner receives a $500 tuition credit.
Together, these two videos show that the journey is about much more than distance, it’s about the destination: BU.
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