VIU Student Pulse News: August 19, 2020
Welcome to the first edition of the VIU Student Pulse! Here you’ll find everything you need to know about student life, services, and important health and safety updates. Look for it in your inbox every second Wednesday (except for this first edition of course).
Building Better Virtual Study Habits
Like many students, we found the sudden move to online learning last spring to be an overwhelming experience. It was challenging to motivate ourselves to find a routine and finish our classes. But we did it and want to pass on our newfound knowledge to help other students have an easier time.
First, here are our top five bad habits that impacted our productivity when VIU moved to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Financial resources to help you pay for post-secondary
Our federal and provincial governments have introduced many relief measures for Canadians and British Columbians suffering financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What this has meant for students is that there is more support to help those in need pay for university than ever before for the 2020-21 academic year.
Are you wondering where to get started? From bumps to existing programs, to new measures designed to stimulate the economy and get students back to work and school, here’s a roundup of some funding options:
Staying strong and keeping connected during COVID-19
A lot has happened in the world over the past three months. We’ve gone from face-to-face classrooms to virtual classrooms; we’ve had our social circles tightened as everyone works to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19; and many of us have experienced reduced work hours and financial strains.
Coming together to recognize Indigenous graduates during COVID-19
Graduating from university is a momentous occasion in a student’s life, but COVID-19 has made honouring and acknowledging this accomplishment challenging.
Five Reasons to Consider a Career in the Trades
Are you wondering if a career in the trades is right for you? Working with your hands, tools and big machines can pay off in a big way and starting your career in the trades can sometimes take less than a year of post-secondary training.
Nearly half of all the almost 71,000 job openings predicted for British Columbia over the next decade will be in the trades and technology fields. As technology advances, most of those careers in trades will require training by a certified institution such as Vancouver Island University.
Life after dark at VIU
For the majority of students, involvement in extracurricular activities plays an integral role in the university experience. How? Students enhance their personal development through these activities and just blow off steam, which is also important.
By participating in life after dark at VIU, you can reap benefits such as:
New Year’s Resolutions Students Make
We all have dreams of self-improvement – wanting to be a better person, be more active, be healthier or do something on our bucket list. We start thinking about those good intentions when we toss the old calendar into the recycling bin and start a new year.
How to manage stress as a university student
Being a university student can be stressful.
You may have competing deadlines. Maybe you’re holding down a part-time job, experiencing social pressures or have family responsibilities. Sometimes it can feel like you’re being pulled in too many directions.
How do you cope? The first step is to find out what positive coping strategies work for you. Here are some tips you can try to manage stress as a university student.
4 things no one told you about life after graduation
You’re going to spend the next few years with your nose buried in textbooks, cramming for exams and befriending your local barista. But what is life like on the other side? Will you just fall into a job? How will you find your dream career? Four VIU grads share their path from university student to working adult.