EducationUSA

Helping Canadians with their educational goals

EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network which promotes U.S. higher education by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited postsecondary institutions in the United States. EducationUSA also provides services to the U.S. higher education community to help institutional leaders meet their recruitment and campus internationalization goals.

During fiscal year 2022, EducationUSA remained a virtual operation. During Fall 2021, EducationUSA advisor Jenika Heim initiated a mentorship program with 18 Canadian students studying in the USA mentoring 23 Canadian high school students and ran a Guidance Counsellor Workshop series consisting of four webinars. In November and December 2021, EducationUSA expanded from a one-person team in Ottawa (Advisor Jenika Heim) to include two new advisors in Toronto (Hang Lyu) and Vancouver (Zhaoying Hu). New advisors allowed for new opportunities allowing EducationUSA to launch their first virtual fair in April 2022. The virtual fair featured booths with 100 U.S. universities and colleges, as well as representatives from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Four hundred Canadian prospective undergraduates attended the event.

Advisors Lyu and Hu have contributed greatly to the EducationUSA Canada mission. From November 2021-August 2022, the EducationUSA team hosted 20 virtual sessions, hosted four Showcase sessions featuring 26 U.S. higher education institutions, completed 444 Zoom advising sessions, and answered 2,396 advising emails. Hu is the marketing and communications lead and has spearheaded the EducationUSA social media networks and marketing campaigns for the virtual and in- person fairs. Lyu is the institutional partnership lead and has been working with the Toronto District School Board on a partnership with Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs), as well as building knowledge products for the EducationUSA website.

Looking forward, EducationUSA has turned their attention to their first inperson event, a three-city fair tour in Vancouver, Ottawa, and Toronto May 9-13, 2023. This event will feature 50-60 U.S. universities and colleges in each city.