She wrote what most students don’t say out loud
Omeruo’s submission didn’t try to sell Canada. It sat with the financial and personal reality of being an international student here not the brochure version pitched overseas.
Her piece zoomed in on the gap in costs: international undergraduate students can pay more than $40,000 a year in tuition while domestic students pay under $8,000. Add rent, food, transit, and everything else it takes to live, and the total spikes fast.
But she didn’t just stack numbers. She wrote about what it feels like to be in a new country, far from family, trying to juggle school with survival in a place you’re still learning. One scene in her story has her spending her first Christmas in Canada alone, propping up her phone for video calls instead of being at the table back home.
A direct path into the industry
Before coming to Canada, Omeruo had already worked in media in Nigeria and watched the industry rapidly shift from traditional to digital. That change pushed her to look for chances to upgrade her skills and gain international experience.
A friend’s advice and a Google rabbit hole eventually led her to Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Digital Communications and Media program and now, directly into a national newsroom. She’s expected to complete her practicum and graduate later this year.
Why her work stood out
The internship, backed by Corus executive and Lethbridge Polytechnic alumnus Troy Reeb, goes each year to a student who shows strong reporting instincts and a clear sense of where they want to go in journalism.
Instructors say Omeruo’s piece landed because it tackled something timely and refused to sand down the rough edges. With living costs and tuition rising across Canada, international students are absorbing some of the hardest hits, but their day‑to‑day reality rarely makes it past headline-level discussion. Her story forced readers to sit with it.
The bigger picture
International students now make up a major share of Canada’s post‑secondary enrolment, and many arrive without a full sense of what it actually costs to live and study here. Between tuition that can top $41,000 a year and rising housing costs, school often runs alongside one or more part‑time jobs just to keep the lights on.
Stories like Omeruo’s don’t just lay out the numbers; they give those pressures names, faces, and specific sacrifices, making the issue harder for institutions and policymakers to ignore. Omeruo will spend two weeks embedded with Global News and Corus Radio teams before heading back to finish her program. For a story that started as one student trying to make sense of her own experience, it’s already doing something bigger than she first imagined.
Sources:
Lethbridge Polytechnic – “Troy Reeb internship awarded to Digital Communications and Media student,” via Education News Canada, April 28, 2026.
Lethbridge Polytechnic – News and Events page.
EduCanada – “Study costs for international students in Canada.”
Economic Times – “Average cost of a four-year degree in Canada crosses $177,000 for international students.”
