Education

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.

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.

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. 

Kayla Passmore and Victoria Ross and are co-valedictorians for the Faculty of Education’s graduating class of 2022. From varsity athletics to student leadership roles, Kayla and Victoria are some of the most involved students on campus, so you’ve likely seen them around.

Growing up with a brother who has non-verbal autism, Brant Cartwright recalls “always feeling off” about the limited representation of people living with disabilities that he saw in both media and the fashion industry.

The fifth-year VIU Bachelor of Education student felt compelled to search out companies with inclusive employment and representation practices.

“It is shocking how little has been done,” Brant says.