Life is more fun with purpose
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.
Integrating AI into classrooms
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.
Creating connections through poetry
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.
Finding community and belonging at VIU
Safe, supported and valued are three words Rayan Zeineddine uses to describe how he feels in his current job as Housing Admissions Coordinator with VIU Residences.
Rayan grew up in Lebanon. After high school, he pursued a degree in medical laboratory technology. He was good at chemistry and biology, so his first thought was to go into medicine.
Pushing the boundaries of what is possible
Members of the Vancouver Island University community may remember Kayla Passmore for her role as team captain of the Mariner’s women’s volleyball team, helping to lead her team to four national championship victories. But she was an active member of the VIU community in many other ways, organizing major events, leading tours and helping new students in residences.
Ready to share her research
When Heather Finlay decided to pursue her Master of Education in Special Education, she knew VIU was the place to do it.
“I had done my teaching program with VIU and they were so supportive throughout,” she says. “When I decided to go back to school to complete my masters, I knew that VIU would be a good fit for me.”
Now, having graduated this past June, Heather says she is excited to share her research with others.
Gaining confidence and finding her crew
At the start of her university journey, Bachelor of Education student Sherry Wessel was very shy. So shy, she shook when she had to talk in front of the class. As her program progressed, she became more confident in herself and as a teacher. Fast forward to today and she’s representing the Class of 2023 as a valedictorian at convocation. Sherry shares more about her VIU journey and some advice for students following the same path.
Encouraging the next generation of Indigenous leaders
Growing up, Hayden Kenneth Taylor remembers hiding his identity as a member of the Haisla Nation because of how other people viewed Indigenous peoples. Fast forward to today and Hayden, who is in VIU’s Master of Education program, is researching ways to incorporate more Indigenous culture and knowledge into BC’s public-school curriculum. He has also taken a leading role in encouraging Indigenous youth to connect with culture.
Taking her education global with international internships
Gabrielle Hayashi Santos has been interested in the topic of internationalizing education ever since she was in high school.
It’s an interest that led the Brazilian graduate to apply for – and receive – a 12-week internship at Vancouver Island University in 2019, through the Mitacs Globalink Research Internship program.
Creating a literary connection for Indigenous kids
What originally started as a “small summer project” for Samantha Beynon has now led to a published children’s book.
Samantha is a VIU Bachelor of Education student who is heading into her fifth year this fall. She says the book, Oolichan Moon, published by Harbour Publishing, will be widely available on shelves as of this October.
“I actually wrote it a couple of years ago, and self-published it,” she explains.