Student Stories

VIU alum Mac Barrera’s undergraduate research was not only published in an international journal, it has also led to new insights about the endangered Vancouver Island marmot.  

“It’s exciting. I feel very proud,” says Mac, who now works as a lab technician in VIU’s Biology department. “Getting an undergrad research paper published in a legitimate, peer-reviewed journal is rare.”

For the first time at VIU, a sociology class has written and published a book together. 

The students examined gender in their book Gender: Reflections and Intersections – a collaborative project for their Sociology 322 class. The 31 students each contributed two pieces: an academic article and one free-choice contribution that could be creative, such as:

Canada’s senior population is growing, which is why Master of Community Planning student Alicia McLean is researching how communities can be managed to best support older adults. She is conducting this research with the help of a BC Graduate Scholarship.

For Michelle White, the benefit of the Dual Credit Program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) is obvious: “It helps you get a step ahead in university, and it also helps you finish off high school.”

White is a high school student at Ladysmith Secondary School. She is also enrolled in VIU’s Culinary Arts program.

“I learn a lot and I get the opportunity to do a lot of things,” she says.

Fourth-year VIU Nursing student Carliegh Gainer chose her field of study because she’s looking forward to a career that will bring her “to many different areas and places.”

Although she has not yet graduated, this reasoning behind her decision is already starting to play out in the form of a grant application that was approved recently to fund a mural project at a local elementary school.

While Nadia Linning has always had an interest in the field of travel, tourism and recreation, a co-op opportunity this past summer resulted in a whole new experience and role for her, one that she ultimately ended up excelling in.

Nadia, a fourth-year student in VIU’s Bachelor of Tourism Management program, worked as a Fire Information Assistant with the BC Wildfire Service during the 2022 wildfire season.

For VIU student Hunter Jarratt, a social media account with a sizeable following and somewhat niche subject matter came about rather unexpectedly.

Hunter, a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Natural Resource Protection Program, is the creator and personality behind @InvasiveSpeciesGuy on both TikTok and Instagram.

Every year in BC, a series of contests are held for university students learning Chinese to present their language and cultural knowledge to a panel of judges.

My name is Sarah Osborne and I am a fourth-year student in the Child and Youth Care program at VIU. This fall, I had the opportunity to go on exchange to the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (Norges Idrettshogskole, or NIH) in Oslo, Norway.