Student Stories

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 fourth-year Child and Youth Care (CYC) student is a regular volunteer at Friday Night Lights, a free program for youth and their caregivers that operates out of Georgia Avenue Elementary School. A partnership between the City of Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation and Culture department, School District 68 and Vancouver Island University, the program provides a space for local children and their caregivers to play sports, do crafts and socialize together.

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.

Grace Poirier has always thought a career in pastry arts is “the coolest job ever.”

Now, the second-year VIU Baking and Pastry Arts student has taken another step towards that goal.

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.