to found an international language academy
that is now Canada’s top English school with
multiple campuses in downtown Toronto and
Vancouver. Kolber initiated an idea to launch
the school while working part time asan Eng-
lish (ESL) teacher. His expertise in finance and
banking helped to establish the school’s strong
reputation.
The founding partners held a grand opening in
the summer of 1997, sending invitations to ESL
students studying across Toronto. Their first in-
take drew 25 students that July, followed by 40
in August and 70 in September. They peaked
at 80 in October and then hit an unexpected
stumbling block in December when an eco-
nomic crisis in Korea – home to close to 50
percent of their students – saw many ask for
refunds and return to Asia. Combined with the
natural drop that occurs when students leave
for the Christmas break, ILAC saw its popula-
tion suddenly dwindle.
DEC 2014
H
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