Alum of the Month: Cam Wipper
March 24, 2021
Cam Wipper has always been interested in the stars, but it wasn’t until he stepped into an astronomy class with Dr. Greg Arkos at Vancouver Island University that he was hooked. Today he works at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on the Big Island of Hawai'i, conducting night-time scientific observations for astronomers across Canada and around the world. Here’s a bit about his journey from... Read more
VIU Alum Makes an Impact Through Endowment Awards
March 8, 2021
Thanks to generous support from community, three annual awards will be given out to VIU students in the name of Micah Messent, who passed away in a plane crash in March 2019. Every year, three Indigenous students will have their financial burdens eased a little in the name of Micah Messent, a Vancouver Island University (VIU) graduate who lost his life in a tragic crash two years ago. Messent,... Read more
Alum of the Month: Tyson Whitney
February 23, 2021
Graduating in the midst of a recession, Tyson Whitney (Bachelor of Arts, Major in Creative Writing and Journalism ’08) worked a variety of jobs that didn’t focus on writing at first, including as a law clerk and warehouse manager. In 2015, he went to work for the North Island Gazette in Port Hardy, where he became editor a year later and has never looked back. The paper has since been nominated... Read more
VIU Alum Starts Award for Single Mothers
February 9, 2021
Receiving financial help changed Kyla Hanington’s life and the lives of her children when she was at university; now she wants to give back to families in similar situations. There were many times when Kyla Hanington was close to giving up on her university education. Every time this happened, the single mother of two received a timely scholarship, bursary or award that served as encouragement,... Read more
Alum of the Month: Dennis Año
January 28, 2021
Doing his master’s degree at VIU while working up to 30 hours a week as a Community Health Nurse was one of the biggest challenges Dennis Año (Master of Business Administration/Master of Science in International Management ’15) has ever taken on. After graduating, Año worked as Nurse Manager for the Island Community Mental Health Association and then as Director of Wellness for Amica at Douglas... Read more
Alum of the Month: Megan Yim
January 14, 2021
Dr. Megan Yim (Bachelor of Arts ’15, Major in Psychology) is passionate about helping people reach their full health potential. Yim, who went on to complete a master’s degree in experimental neuropsychology at the University of Victoria and then a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto, is now working as a chiropractor at Backfit Clinic in Victoria,... Read more
Alumni of the Month: Spenser Smith
December 8, 2020
Through his writing, Spenser Smith (Bachelor of Arts, Major in Creative Writing ’19) is attempting to change the public’s perception of drug users and add another perspective to the conversation about BC’s overdose crisis. In September 2019, he started his Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia (UBC), for which he is writing a book of poetry that explores his... Read more
Alum of the Month: Ron Brash
October 20, 2020
A passion for tinkering with computer programs and designing web pages led Ron Brash to start his first year of VIU’s Information Technology and Applied Systems (ITAS) diploma program while he was still in high school. Through a partnership program between Nanaimo Ladysmith School District and VIU that allows public school students to take university courses in their senior years, Ron took his... Read more
Alum of the Month: Ariana White
September 15, 2020
After graduating from the Culinary Management diploma program at VIU in 2012, Ariana White, who has been cooking her whole life, decided to take her career in a new direction and focus on whole animal butchery. She currently works at Chop ‘N Block, a local shop in Kamloops, BC, where she hopes to continue learning as much as she can about about the trade with the eventual goal of opening her own... Read more
VIU Alum Helps Start Mobile Youth Outreach Team to Support Homeless Youth
July 10, 2020
Ruby Barclay, a Child and Youth Care alum and coordinator of the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre’s Youth Advisory Council, is part of an initiative that aims to support and learn more about youth living on the streets of Nanaimo. “I am the example of what survival is really about on this planet.” To Ruby Barclay, Coordinator of the Nanaimo Aboriginal Centre’s Youth Advisory Council, this quote shows... Read more