Sense of family: N.B. couple celebrates college graduation with group of international students they house
A couple from St. Andrews, N.B. has stepped into the role of proud parents for a group of graduating international students.
Gmae Eviota, originally from the Philippines, has been studying at the New Brunswick Community College's St. Andrews Campus.
She recently graduated and was offered a job in her field of hotel and restaurant management.
Now, Eviota is preparing to leave the town she's lived in, studied in, and called home for the past few years.
"The good thing is this place is supporting and the employee is willing to sponsor us for immigration, so that's one reason I grabbed the opportunity for this position that I applied for," explained Eviota.
For many international students like Eviota, housing can be hard to find, especially with the popularity of Airbnbs. Luckily, she was connected with Andrew and Barbara Roberts.
"We bought this house with a view of hosting international students," explained Andrew Roberts. "The house was built with two separate units. We occupy one and our students occupy the other."
"They said they have this available basement that we could actually live in and eventually, I didn't expect that our landlords would be like our parents," said Eviota.
On graduation day, the Roberts took the parent role to heart, cheering on the five international students who live in their building and celebrating their achievements alongside them.
"It's just been a really nice sense of family and when your family achieves something, like graduating from college in a foreign country, you want to be there," said Barbara Roberts.
"Our five students had really thrived, they had really succeeded, and they had a lot to be proud of. We were delighted to be part of that at their recent grab," said Andrew.
The Roberts say they encourage others in St. Andrews to follow in their footsteps and think about opening their home to international students.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks beat Oilers 5-4 in comeback to take Game 1
The Vancouver Canucks won the first game of their NHL playoffs series with the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Wednesday night coming back from a three-goal deficit.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.