Moving to Toronto  

I landed in Toronto during Career Discovery Week, so it was a very hectic time to move. If I had known how informative it was going to be, I would have planned to fly in earlier. You should arrive in Toronto at least two weeks before orientation. Since I had lived in the US for seven years, I already had a list of things I wanted to knock out before orientation day. Ideally, you should find a place to live before flying in so you can get going from day one.  

Getting Organized 

I moved into Tartu College the day I landed, but I still had to get all the essentials during week one. The first thing I did was open a student account at one of the big banks. I explored the neighborhood on foot to map out the nearest grocery store and discount store (Dollarama). I then booked an appointment with Service Canada to get my social insurance number. And since I also had a Texas driver's license, I could go to Service Ontario and exchange it for an Ontario driver's license. If you do not want a license, get an Ontario Photo Card, and you won't have to carry your passport everywhere. Also, get a Canadian SIM from one of the MVNOs if you want a cheaper phone plan.  

Those are the first things that you must knock out before the program starts. Because once it does, you are not going to have any time. You also need to rest up and meet with your classmates before the program starts.  

Adventures in Toronto  

On the weekend before orientation, about 25 of my classmates decided to go to Toronto Island Park. We already had a WhatsApp group made during the summer so we could connect once we were all in Toronto. We took the ferry to Turtle Island and hiked around the park to catch some great sunset views of the skyline. It was nice meeting a lot of peers and making those connections before we started the program. I already knew who was going to be my peeps during the program. I also got a Presto card (the city transit pass) for easier access to the awesome public transport in Toronto. I visited Lakefront Park with some of my new friends and biked around the trails looking into Lake Ontario.  

Orientation  

And then came the much-awaited orientation. It was two packed days of walking us through the entire program structure and what the expectations from the cohort were. There was also a lot of information shared by Program Services, Career Services, Faculty, Labs, Libraries, and other support services offered by Rotman and U of T. The first week started with boot camps to bring everyone up to speed on some topics we would need to review. A week after that we started our courses for the intro term.  

So that was my first month in Toronto. August was just a wave of emotions and experiences. It was a prequel to what my life was going to look like throughout the academic year. I am super excited to begin my Rotman journey and build lifelong connections. 

The Master of Management Analytics is designed to give students the advanced data management, analytics, and communication skills needed to become an analytics professional.