Student Stories

For Logan Cursley and Esther Popma, their chosen career path already looks promising, as they have both qualified to compete in their fields at the Skills Canada Nationals competition in Quebec this week.

Last fall we spent 19 days travelling throughout Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island with the World Leisure Centre of Excellence at VIU. All students were supported with various levels of funding from Global Skills Opportunity Travel Grants, allowing for more freedom in choosing activities throughout the trip. We visited many places including Otautahi Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Te Anau and Ōtepoti-Dunedin.

Aiden Kilcommons is one of only 26 geoscience students from post-secondary institutions across Canada to receive a coveted all-expenses paid spot in the Student-Industry Mineral Exploration Workshop (S-IMEW). 

The Pacific Salmon Foundation oversees multiple scholarship awards and bursaries to help foster the development of emerging salmon leaders and scientists. Every year, these initiatives provide financial support to post-secondary students engaged in salmon-related studies.

Two outstanding students in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Diploma Program at Vancouver Island University were recently offered PSF-supported scholarships. Nick Davenport and Allie Unger accepted a $2,000 and $1,000 award respectively at a ceremony hosted by VIU in April 2024.

Kate Wilson was working in a bakery when she decided to take a step further and pursue a professional designation through VIU’s Baking and Pastry Arts program. She graduated from the program in 2020 and is now the owner of Pink Bow Patisserie, which sells wholesale cakes and pastries.

I attended a community practice placement in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with 11 other Bachelor of Science in Nursing students last fall.

Danielle Alyward is a big fan of learning through play.

The dynamic nature of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has captured Andrew Szilagyi’s interest.

“The recent boom in AI development with tools like ChatGPT became a large topic of discussion worldwide and particularly in my life as a student,” he says.

The fourth-year VIU Psychology Honours student is delving deeper into the subject, with a new research project looking at how different levels of exposure to AI in the workplace can influence how workers perceive their identities when working alongside AI systems.

Paige Pierce’s first exposure to poetry came about in her last few years of high school. But it wasn’t a smooth introduction.

“A lot of the poetry I was interacting with did not feel relatable or accessible to youth, so I started my writing career as a bit of a poetry hater,” she says.

Still, Paige persevered.

For VIU students looking to expand their global horizons and study internationally while pursuing their undergraduate degree, there is a lot of funding available to help make this dream come true. VIU’s Education Abroad office is giving out more than $200,000 in scholarships and grants this year.