In the heart of Old Harlow, nestled among local businesses and a community center, there stands a Canadian university campus. It belongs to the Memorial University of Newfoundland, which is headquartered thousands of miles away from England. The campus in Harlow is home to up to 60 students and 16 staff members at any given time. Among them is 25-year-old education student Alyssa Griffiths, who describes the town as similar to her home city of Torbay in Newfoundland due to the weather and “homey” atmosphere.
The Harlow campus was established in 1969 by Lord Taylor of Harlow, the erstwhile president of Memorial University. Lord Taylor was also instrumental in developing New Harlow in the aftermath of World War II. He believed it would be fitting to link the “oldest town in the New World” with the “newest town in the Old World.” Since then, the campus has grown to include several buildings, such as an old schoolhouse, a 150-year-old Maltings building, and Cabot House, an oak-beamed former butcher’s shop.
Students from Memorial University come to Harlow to pursue a wide range of subjects, including teaching, business, biochemistry, the visual arts, theater, biology, and the social sciences. Although the Harlow campus has been around for over 50 years, many students, such as Alyssa Griffiths, know nothing of it until they hear from those who’ve studied there before them. Nevertheless, the students speak glowingly of the campus, describing it as “life-changing” and “amazing.”
Meanwhile, Jayme Humber is teaching kindergarten-aged children at a local primary school in Harlow. She finds the experience to be enlightening and stimulating, saying that it’s great to see the differences between the English and Canadian school systems. At the same time, she loves using her free time to explore Europe, having visited France, Holland, Ireland, Greece, and soon Spain. In a few years, her students will remember her as the “Canadian teacher” who imparted valuable lessons during their formative years.
The campus is helmed by Cristin Casey, who fell in love with Harlow while doing teaching practice here in 2005. It was also in the town that she met her husband, a native of Harlow. Cristin believes that the campus’s village feel helps to ease the culture shock that students might face when they arrive. To that end, the cafeteria has tables named after popular restaurants in Newfoundland, while the rooms are named after regions in the province. There’s also a map where students can pin flags to represent their home regions in Canada. The campus also celebrates Canada Day and Thanksgiving, where they serve Jiggs’ dinner, a traditional meal consisting of meat and root vegetables. All this helps the students feel at home and makes the staff a little more familiar with Newfoundland. Down the line, Casey hopes that everyone will know of this little corner of Canada
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