Team Reflection: International Students: Life After Graduation

Over the past year, the Innovation Hub worked in partnership with the Centre for International Experience to produce a documentary short about the experiences of international U of T alumni. In this blog, the Innovation Hub’s Audiovisual Storytelling team reflects upon learnings from working on the year-long documentary project, as well as creative storytelling projects of their own. 

Written by the Audiovisual Storytelling Team 

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International Students: Life After Graduation 

This year, we continued our partnership with the Centre for International Experience to explore the range of experiences of international students after graduating from U of T. The goal of this project was to discover the diverse pathways and opportunities that international students pursue after graduation from the University of Toronto, and to highlight recent graduates’ perspectives. We are grateful to the International Student Experience Fund (ISEF) for its support of the project. The documentary is premiering in Fall 2025, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Watch the Trailer: 

Sharing the Journeys of Six International Alums 

In August 2024, we issued a widespread call for five international graduates and one final year student who would be willing to document their life after graduating from U of T. We were overwhelmed by the interest and received almost 200 applications for the project. After getting to know them and hearing their unique stories, we were thrilled to select our six fantastic participants: 

Exploring Post-Grad Pathways 

Throughout the process of producing the documentary, we were grateful to hear so many diverse stories and experiences from participants. As we watched the video clips that came in from our participants, we were touched in many ways that inspired us to reflect on our own experiences as students. We didn’t expect how powerful it would be to see ourselves in the experiences, backgrounds, and struggles of the alumni in the film – especially as a team of students about to graduate. Team members shared reflections about working on the project: 

Azam: I was surprised to learn how much I relate to the stories of our participants, even though we come from very different backgrounds. For example, I was pretty inspired by Lupita’s story – wanting to go back to Mexico and contribute to her community, but torn with wanting to establish roots and contribute to the community here. A lot of the things the participants experienced and struggled with are relatable, and I can really see myself in them. 

The rich stories that each member of the documentary shared also inspired us to think about the diverse range of pathways that exist post-graduation. Below, Angie and Diana reflect on the journey of finding your own unique pathway to success.  

Angie: Some students have clear pathways, and others are still figuring it out as they go. It’s good insight in a personal sense. It was nice hearing about the struggles that they had to deal with to get to the point of finding the paths in their lives. We don’t often learn about how people find their sense of purpose in life. 

 

Diana: This shows just how many open doors students have after graduating from U of T. I probably never would’ve guessed these participants’ stories without having heard of them myself! I can see that there isn’t just one path, especially for international students. 

As a team, we were inspired by the multitude of pathways that international students took after graduating from U of T. Watching these stories reminded us that there isn’t always a linear transition from school to career – and that transition looks different for every single graduate. We hope this theme can normalize the diverse pathways that international students take as they depart from U of T and build their lives on their own terms. 

Global Learning & Unique Challenges 

Another central theme of the documentary was globality, with a goal to explore the complex global identities of international alumni of U of T. We watched our participants establish new roots in Canada and navigate their new lives here while grappling with their cultural and familial identities from back home. They asked themselves complex questions such as, “Do I want to stay here permanently?” and “Where is my home?”. Through this dialogue, we learned so much about the complex challenges that international students and alumni face, and how that can play a role in the building of their lives after graduation. Diana reflected on the additional hurdles international alumni face that she did not realize before this project. 

Diana: This project brought to light a lot of the unique challenges that international students face. For example, filling out all of the documentation that they need to stay here, which is something I don’t have to worry about as a domestic student. These steps take a lot of time and effort. This helped me empathize with international students more; by knowing they had that extra weight on them throughout their time at university. 

Exploring global identities can help us expand our own perspectives, learn more about the peers around us, and experience a sense of empathy for the experiences that are not our own. Below, Angie reflects on the importance of learning from each other to break down barriers. 

Angie: Being able to see students from completely different cultures and backgrounds live their lives, breaks down barriers and helps us learn more about one another. We’re all so different, but we go through a lot of the same phases of life. 

The global perspectives and unique challenges that were highlighted in this film and throughout the creation process has inspired our team, helping us build a deeper sense of understanding that has stuck with us ever since. 

Authenticity in Storytelling 

A priority for our team throughout this project, and all audiovisual storytelling projects at the iHub, is to create spaces where participants can feel comfortable to be themselves. Through this comfort, we were able to help our participants feel comfortable on camera – and more importantly, feeling comfortable being vulnerable while sharing their unique stories. We’re grateful for the honesty and relatability of each of our participants, who helped us experience a deep sense of empathy as an audience. We’re also so grateful for our empathetic filmmaker, Cal Campos, who made everyone feel comfortable on camera and let their unique stories shine. Diana reflected on the impact of knowing everyone involved felt comfortable along the way. 

Diana: One moment that stands out to me was watching the smiles of all of our participants throughout their footage. They were their authentic selves. We could really feel their appreciation for being able to participate in the project. 

Our Photographer and Videographer also learned to lead photography and videography sessions at the Innovation Hub, making different members of the team feel comfortable while getting their photos captured. Sakura and Amy reflected on the process of learning how to make everyone comfortable through creating authentic environments.

Sakura: Gathering everybody together and going through the process of leading sessions and making people feel more comfortable was an enjoyable and fun moment. 

Amy: These experiences have taught me a lot. It was a very good environment to learn how to make participants comfortable on camera. 

As we supported our participants through the self-filming process, we also encouraged them to share all parts of their story – not just the highlight reel. We wanted to see the real struggles and challenges along the way – because we know how much others can relate to these stories. Azam and Angie reflected on how they were able to see themselves in the participants’ authentic stories. 

Azam: I was surprised to learn how much I relate to their stories, even though we come from very different backgrounds. I’m a child of immigrants, and a lot of our participants expressed similar experiences and pressures. Many of the things they experienced and struggled with were relatable to me, and it really humanizes those experiences. I can see myself in them. 

Angie: One theme that really stood out to me was finding time with family, and navigating a new way to define family, because they had to make changes to the way they connect with their family and culture. I can personally relate to this, and it can be tough to maintain those relationships back home when you’re halfway across the globe. 

This year, we’ve experienced the power of authentic storytelling firsthand, which has translated to all aspects of our audiovisual storytelling and creative production projects. 

Screening the Documentary for the First Time 

This March, we hosted the first viewing of International Students: Life After Graduation with our six international students, our partners from the Office of the Vice-President, International, and the Centre for International Experience. The opportunity to see the reactions of the community made us feel proud and excited that our work truly resonated with others – and most importantly, our six international alum in the room. Hayley reflected on how it felt to see the community watch the documentary for the first time. 

Hayley: Though I had seen the documentary before and became quite familiar with the story throughout the editing process, seeing it in-person amongst our participants and members of the U of T community was a special feeling. It’s a magical experience to see such a story come to life, watching it leave our audience members with a range of powerful emotions (and some questions to ponder). Most importantly, I’m excited for the many international students who weren’t in the room with us to get to see themselves in the stories of our six participants, and to know that there’s an abundance of unique pathways out there for them post-graduation. 

We also witnessed our documentary participants getting to meet each other for the first time, and how they immediately greeted each other with open arms. There was an immediate sense of community and camaraderie between the alum as they discussed their experiences as international students, and what life is like now. The screening event was a moment of celebration for our team, successfully wrapping the documentary project after a year in the making! 

International Students: Life After Graduation – Premiering in Fall 2025

We couldn’t be more excited about sharing International Students: Life After Graduation with the community. Stay tuned for the documentary’s official launch in the Fall of 2025! 

Contributors