Class of 2026: International student built community by helping international students

After a decade working as an architect in Thailand, Bordin Pornrattanapitak (Architectural Technology ’26), better known by his nickname SamBi, wanted to learn more about contemporary design, technology and building materials.

“I didn’t know how to build a modern building,” he says.

He didn’t feel he could do that in Thailand, with its strong emphasis was on traditional structures. Upon researching Australian and Canadian post-secondary programs to supplement his degree, SamBi discovered NAIT. He took an online course to improve his English before arriving in Edmonton in August 2024. After he got his diploma, he’d bring over his wife and young son.

The move presented not only new building concepts but an unfamiliar environment: different culture and customs, new food and, of course, a northern prairie climate.

Rather than see any of it as a barrier, SamBi embraced it all.

“My first impression when I landed here [was] the weather is so good, the air is so clear compared to Bangkok,” SamBi says. “I loved the landscape [and] the cityscape.”

More than anything, however, SamBi embraced the opportunity to be part of his new community and give back to it through by sharing his time, insight and enthusiasm, particularly with fellow students from abroad.

Compelled to help

SamBi came to know the challenges of the immigrant experience well.

After arriving in Edmonton in August 2024, finding somewhere to live was his biggest struggle. For almost two months, he lived in three Airbnbs and one hotel to avoid having to take a basement suite. “I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been to endure the long winter while feeling isolated in a basement,” he says. SamBi found a sixth-floor apartment downtown the following October.

To help keep loneliness at bay, he attended an international student orientation at NAIT’s International and Intercultural Community Centre (IICC) in August. It helped create his network of friends and support.

“That event encouraged me to participate in more activities throughout the [first] semester and also introduced me to the International Peer Mentorship program.”

SamBi became a mentee in his first semester, participating and volunteering for many IICC events throughout his first year with his mentor, Katrina.

“With Katrina’s encouragement, I eventually decided to apply and become a program mentor,”  SamBi says.

He took on the role during his second year, feeling compelled to help international students. He knew exactly what they were going through.

International students face unique challenges, with homesickness and isolation ranking high among them, says Karen Velasco (Bachelor of Business Administration ’22, Marketing ‘14), NAIT’s international student experience supervisor. There are, however, arguably more serious ones to consider.

“When [international students] study at NAIT, it’s tied to their immigration,” she says.

A failed course can mean needing to apply for a study permit extension to retake the course, incurring more costs.

“When [international students] find their community, are motivated and inspired, that’s when you see a SamBi – an international peer mentor who says, ‘I know this struggle, this challenge, and I want to give back.’” Velasco says.

SamBi brought a fresh approach to the mentor role, she adds, finding ways to connect new international students with one another and even with NAIT alumni. As proof of his effectiveness, one mentee overcame her shyness to sell her crafts at a campus vendor fair and even successfully ran for a student executive position in the Architecture and Interior Design Club.

“He doesn’t have to brag about it,” says Velasco about SamBi’s impact. “People will vouch for him.”

Not settling for just one volunteer gig, SamBi also joined the Architecture and Interior Design Club during his second year, serving as vice-president finance and helping classmates in their academic pursuits.

Feels like home – almost

Whether fellow students embraced winter as enthusiastically as SamBi did is up for debate. He was one of few international students who would bring skates to do laps at the NAIT arena between classes. He even contentedly works outdoors through the winter at a part-time siding job he found through an Edmonton Thai community Facebook group.

“We work in -25 C,” SamBi says. Like a veteran Edmontonian, he acquired all the necessary gear to comfortably handle the cold.

In any season, the city now feels like home to SamBi – with two people notably absent. He video-calls his wife and seven-year-old son daily but hasn’t seen them in person since August 2024.

“I miss them a lot,” he says.

It’s with them in mind that he now spends his days updating his resumé to send out to local architecture and construction firms. He looks forward to applying his new skills to the types of buildings that once inspired him from half a world away.

“I love to design things and want a challenge,” he says, crossing his fingers that the interviews he’s had since graduation will lead exactly to that.

Just as much, he hopes to be able to stay in Canada and, one day soon, bring his family here to live, skate and admire the architecture.