Reeta Karki is an international student at Thompson Rivers University Williams Lake Campus.
Originally from Nepal, Karki moved to Canada in December 2023 to study nursing and spent her first eight months of school at TRU in Kamloops.
At 21, she said nursing has been an aim of hers since she was in Grade 8 and something should would have pursued had she stayed in Nepal.
“It is hectic, but I am enjoying it,” she said of the program's demands.
One of the nice things for her is that her roommate is also a student from Nepal. The two women met in Kamloops.
Karki will graduate in 2026 and recently completed some clinical work at Seniors Village.
“I love it,” she said of practical experience. “You get the chance to meet different people, with different personalities and different beliefs, from which we can learn. Everybody has a different perspective and we have to respect them.”
She especially loves making people smile, she added.
One thing she didn’t expect in Canada is the way people are taken care of as they age.
“In our country we don’t have places like Seniors Village and Age Care because whatever will happen the family looks after the grandpa and grandma or their mom and dad. We never separate from family.”
Even girls live at home until they marry, she said.
The environment at TRU is good and the professors are supportive, she added.
She has classes from Monday to Friday and she works part-time at FreshCo, where she is also said people are friendly.
While her native language is Nepali, she grew up learning English in school.
“We read English from childhood. We have one subject which is Nepali, but everything else like science and math we learn in English.”
Being an international student has its challenges, especially being away from her family. She is the oldest with a sister in high school and a brother in Grade 7.
The city Kapilvastu she is from is where the Golden Buddha was born.
"There are many temples there," she said, adding she herself is Hindu.
While Williams Lake is much quieter than Kamloops and the city she grew up in and that has been an adjustment, Karki said people in Williams Lake are helpful and friendly.
“In Kamloops I didn’t get the chance to meet as many people. By coming to Williams Lake I am meeting more people.”
Praising her landlords for being very helpful, she said she's glad to be where she is.
“I feel more comfortable here than in Kamloops.”
As for being a woman, she said it is something she's proud of.
That and the fact she is going to school.
