CBU welcomes students back
American student among new faces on campus
She came from Virginia, by way of Ireland, to hear some of Cape Breton’s traditional music.
And that’s exactly what Annabelle Bugay expects to do.
A step dancer and piano player, Bugay, 20, will spend a semester in Sydney as part of a study-abroad program through the University of Limerick.
The third-year Irish music and dance student arrived at Cape Breton University on Thursday.
As part of her immersion into the island’s culture, Bugay has booked tickets to the Celtic Colours International Festival — a musical celebration taking place each October against a backdrop of spectacular fall foliage.
“I didn’t realize how much of the music I listened to was Canadian until I started researching,” said the Richmond, Va., native.
“I’ve always been drawn to it because the piano plays such a big part — I mean obviously it’s a fiddle tradition — but in Irish
music it’s not like there isn’t piano, but generally, it’s less usual to have piano accompaniment.”
One motivator in her desire to
study in Cape Breton was a Canadian music teacher who helped polish Bugay’s piano skills.
But the most remarkable influence was an exchange with a fellow Limerick student.
“He studied abroad here this time last year, and I ran into him, in all places, at a pub in Vienna at a (music) session,” she said.
“He was like ‘You have to go to Cape Breton,’ so yes — it’s all just been chance meetings... I’ll just come now because the universe is saying to go.”
Bugay was one of hundreds of new faces Saturday at CBU as students began moving into
residence for the upcoming school year.
Classes at the island’s only university begin Wednesday.
“This seems more like colleges back in the States,” said Bugay about the Sydney campus.
“In Ireland it was very different. I enjoyed the university but there’s things, like I have a meal plan this semester. This is the first time I’ve ever not had to cook and do all the groceries for myself at school.”
After receiving her degree, Bugay said she hopes to operate her own dance school in
Virginia.
“Somewhere on my mom’s side there are Irish people, but she always thought Irish dancing was cool and wanted me to try it as a kid. I did, and I ended up keeping up with it my whole life.”
Maddie Munro, a residence adviser at CBU, said frosh week activities give students a connection with people they
will likely see throughout the school year.
“Cape Breton University’s really small and a close-knit family,” said the fifth-year business student from Truro, N.S.
“You’ll see basketball (players) coming out and helping people (moving) into their rooms, and it’s really just a chance to get to know everybody.”
Munro said she expects there might be some first-year jitters for anyone who hasn’t had a university or college experience before.
“When I came in my first
year there was a lot of nerves,” she said. “You don’t know anybody, so it’s nice when you have a lot of people coming up to you and saying ‘Do you need help with this?’
“It’s nice to have that close community feel.”
This year, CBU is welcoming several hundred more students. A part of the reason for the population growth is a large international enrolment, which increased from 900 students to 1,400 students this year.