Alumni

Jesse Anderson has always been interested in working with heavy machinery and wanted a career where he could see immediate results from his work. Heavy equipment operation turned out to be the perfect fit.

“It combines skill, precision and the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment,” he says.

Today, Jesse is the owner of KPN Contracting and a VIU alum. He took the Heavy Equipment Operator program in 2017.

Dr. Laura Hutchinson has always loved sports. “I played just about every sport I could fit into my schedule in high school and haven’t stopped since,” she says.

She also enjoys math and science, and chose to study engineering in university, as “it seemed like biomechanics was this really cool intersection between science and sport.”

Hilary Peach has worked as boilermaker at job sites across North America, including in Nanaimo and elsewhere on Vancouver Island, for almost 30 years.

It was around ninth grade that Linnea Brickwood realized just how passionate she was about volleyball.

“I became obsessed with the challenges of volleyball, the diversity and the fast-paced play,” she says. “Growing up as a competitive gymnast in an individual sport, I also loved the team aspect and the connection that can be physically felt when you and your team are on the court all playing your best game.”

Mitch Turko came to VIU in 2018 to join the Mariners golf team, with plans to pursue business and finance programs. After taking a first-year accounting course, he developed a strong interest in the subject. And as he delved deeper into his new field, he realized how many different career paths the industry has.

For Victoria Koutstaal, recreation is more than just fun and games.

“Recreation is community-based and community-building,” she says. “Socialization and our passions are a huge part of our identity as individuals. Without recreation, we have a really difficult – if not impossible – time being healthy, well-rounded human beings. It’s so vital to people’s mental health.”

Growing up in a family of self-taught women cooks, Shannah Pogline was inspired to explore cooking further and enrolled in VIU’s Culinary Arts program. Since graduating in 1999, Shannah has worked in various roles from fine dining, restaurants and catering to meal prepping and schools.

Brian Yin discovered his passion for education while coaching and mentoring others when he worked as an auditor in New York. He contacted his old high school principal about the possibility of becoming a teacher and after an encouraging reply decided to pursue teaching.

He enrolled in VIU’s Bachelor of Education, Post Baccalaureate program, graduating in 2017. He now works as the Principal of Sino-Canada School. 

Working as a high school teacher in India, Harleen Kalra says it was the sudden transition to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic that first piqued her in interest in the evolving impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on education.

Tyson Whitney, Editor of the North Island Gazette and a VIU Creative Writing and Journalism alum, received his greatest honour to date this year when he earned a gold medal at the British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards show.