Future Students

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:

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. 

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.

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.

Have you ever worked a job you dreaded going to, but your co-workers made the eight-hour shift bearable, even enjoyable? It’s amazing how our connections with people can drastically change our perspective about our surroundings and ourselves.

For Silas LaPlante*, when he finished his undergrad and started veterinary school in Australia, he couldn’t connect with his classmates and was struggling to motivate himself in the classroom. After scraping by in first year, he took a break from school before trying again and that’s when he found my tribe.

There is so much going on at college or university that finding time to study, participate in extracurricular activities, work and socialize can seem like an impossible schedule to keep up with.  Four Vancouver Island University students shared their tips for balancing school, work and fun.

It’s that time of year again. Another group of Vancouver Island University graduates are getting ready to cross the stage and head off into the real world – or into graduate programs.

What’s the secret to success in your university studies and beyond? How do you avoid burnout? Why should you try a different type of class? How do you figure out what’s next? Here’s some advice from recent graduates and alumni.

We’re at the end of another semester. For some, this means escaping into the summer months before returning in the fall, for others it means sun-filled days spent indoors … still on campus. But for close to 500 students, that the day is soon approaching when they will file down the aisle, with tassels bouncing, towards the convocation stage. Brimming with smiles, tears and memories of long days and longer nights.

Sheldon Scow has a love/hate relationship with school.

“High school wasn’t a great experience for me – I didn’t believe in myself and I was pushed along so the teachers didn’t have to deal with me the following year,” says the 26-year-old, of Dene and Kwakwaka’wakw descent. “As a young man, that hurts your pride.”

After high school, Sheldon spent eight years working as a chef and battling depression and alcoholism, until one day he experienced a rude awakening.

“My best friend cut me out of his life,” he remembers. “He was tired of watching me struggle.”

Tuition and textbooks, rent and parking passes – oh my!

It can feel a little daunting being a post-secondary student when considering the bills. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources and approaches that can help you get through school without breaking the bank. Of course, it can be easy to miss out on opportunities if you don’t know where to look. Check out these tips to help you get the best bang out of your student bucks.