Student Stories

Lauryn Mackenzie is graduating this June with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media Studies. She is co-valedictorian for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, sharing the honour with fellow grad Siddhanth Arikari.

Lauryn is excited to see what the future holds and after graduation plans see where to road takes her.

Nicole DiCastri, a co-valedictorian for the Faculty of Social Sciences, is graduating this June with a Bachelor of Arts, major in Criminology and minor in Creative Writing. She plans on taking a year off from academics before applying to law schools with the goal of becoming a lawyer.

Rebecca Timmons loves helping kids get excited about science. For the past few months, the fourth-year VIU Fisheries and Aquaculture student has been working as a Let’s Talk Science site coordinator, which is coordinated out of the Deep Bay Marine Field Station.

Emmerson Pollard, who is co-valedictorian for the Faculty of Social Sciences, is graduating this June with a Bachelors of Arts, Honours in Psychology. She plans on starting a Master of Public Health at the University of Victoria this September.

As part of our series highlighting VIU’s 2022 valedictorians leading up to convocation on June 23 and 24, we caught up with Emmerson to learn why she decided to attend VIU and what she loved most about her experience.

For Timilehin Maryam Olayiwola, who is graduating this June from VIU’s Early Childhood Education and Care program, VIU has felt like home because of the in-depth interactions she had with profs and other students, as well as having friends and family studying alongside her. After she represents the Faculty of Health and Health Services as valedictorian, she is ready to put what she learned at VIU into practice.

Monica Webb knows first-hand the difference medical professionals can make in someone’s life.

When she was just a year old, she accidentally spilled two bowls of hot soup on herself, suffering second- and third-degree burns to her chin, left hand and chest as a result. Her parents brought her to the hospital, where she was then transferred to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver to undergo further treatment.

Demitria Rae Rounis is graduating this June with a Bachelor of Tourism Management, Major in Recreation. She also has a diploma in Tourism Studies and a Certificate in Event Management. Aside from representing her peers in the Faculty of Management at convocation, she will also represent Canada at the Royal International Miss Pageant in Orlando this summer.

Exploring the issue of crowding in public parks and how it specifically affects people with mobility-related disabilities is at the centre of VIU Master of Arts in Sustainable Leisure Management (MASLM) student Hannah Dudney’s research.

She recently received a scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to continue her work.

Whether you are missing prerequisites, want to finish high school or need to prepare for success in an academic program, VIU's Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation (ACP) has many programs to help you come back to school and get started on a path that helps you get where you want to go.

The programs are designed to offer a starting point that is right for all types of learners. Students receive dedicated attention and support from instructors who care about their success, gaining confidence and know-how along the way.

A newly revamped Hospital Unit Coordinator (HUC) program at Vancouver Island University (VIU) is proving to be a success, as the first cohort of students to come through the program in two years prepare to graduate this spring.

The program, formerly a six-month, part-time program was paused at the onset of COVID-19, due to challenges associated with conducting it solely online.