Pauline L'Ecuyer: The world at her door
There were signs early on in the life of Pauline L'Ecuyer that she would be well suited to work that involved being highly organized and having an interest in people from far and wide.
As a little girl she would play with the dolls she had from around the world, given to her over the years by her school teacher and traveller aunt, Jeanne d'Arc L'Ecuyer.
"I'd spend hours and hours making stories with the dolls," recalls L'Ecuyer, the newly installed international student advisor. "I would put numbers on their feet, corresponding to a particular country written on a list, then I could remember where my costumed dolls came from."
In a similar vein, L'Ecuyer could be found during the orientation period for McGill's 4,200 international students, putting pins into a map to keep track of the 130-plus countries they represent. The former associate director of donor relations and long-time admissions recruitment officer for Quebec was only two weeks into the job then, a period she describes as a "trial by fire," a far cry from child's play.
L'Ecuyer arrived on the job just weeks before classes were to begin, and she quickly found herself on the phone with students from Moscow, Singapore and Ghana, to name a few places. "They hadn't yet received their immigration papers! I had to learn about immigration really fast," says L'Ecuyer in her sun-filled office.
But the newcomer wasn't to be discouraged. L'Ecuyer was happy to find herself working with and for students again. While her BA is in translation, this native of Beauport (near the Montmorency Falls, across from Ile d'Orléans), knew early on that people more than texts were her forte.
"I realized that my personality was better suited to working with people than with writing and translation," says L'Ecuyer, though writing, and communications in general, is an important component of her work. Since beginning two months ago as the international student advisor, L'Ecuyer has signed her first newsletter, describing the services and activities of her office, and she'll soon begin a column in the newsletter of the McGill International Students' Network, at the organization's request.
Beyond advising international students on such matters as money, accommodation, adaptation, immigration, health insurance and social events, for instance, the office also offers immigration and employment workshops to staff and faculty members so they know the legalities of hiring foreign students.
These services will become increasingly important, says L'Ecuyer, as the population of international students increases from 12% this year to 18% by approximately the year 2,000 -- a goal set by Principal Bernard Shapiro.
Preparing for an expanded role and space for the office when the new student services building opens next September thrills L'Ecuyer, whose service now shares digs with Student Aid. In addition to the current staff of five: advisor, assistant advisor, two health insurance officers and a part-time coordinator of the office's Buddy Program (where first year international students are paired with a local student), the office will also have a receptionist.
L'Ecuyer has ambitions for the new locale. "I want to get flags from the embassies and consulates in order to give the office an international flavour," she says, munching on popcorn, a regular Friday afternoon feature of the office.
At this moment, the Buddy Program's coordinator, student Imma Ienaro, needs information regarding immigration from Pakistan. Given the difficulty in taking money out of that country, L'Ecuyer needs to know the type of student aid each Pakistani student may receive at McGill. The office is particularly concerned about students from Pakistan and East Asia who, given the financial crises of their homelands, often don't have the means they budgeted for a year or two ago.
Juggling such work with the demands of a 16-month-old baby might be daunting to some; not L'Ecuyer. "I'm an organized person. On Sunday, when I go to sleep, I know what we're eating for the rest of the week," says the resident of the south shore community of St-Basile-le-Grand.
Off hours used to include travel, singing jazz with a group of friends and playing piano but, since Béatrice's birth, time off is spent largely with her. Nevertheless, listening to classical music remains a Sunday ritual for the family of three. Soon, however, that may change when three boxes of dolls arrive from Beauport. That is, if daughter is like mother.
Bronwyn Chester
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