Student Stories

A new collection of academic essays published by VIU’s Liberal Studies program examines issues of morality, love and death. 

The Compass Rose: Explorations in Thought is an online collection of essays written by undergrad students at VIU and at other institutions. 

It’s a joint project between the Liberal Studies Department and the Alexandro Malaspina Research Centre. The goal is to help students gain real-world work experience that relates to what they learn in class.

As the war in Ukraine continues, efforts are now being made to understand and analyze the extent of the damage to infrastructure.

Anna Shynkarenko is designing a method to capture the extent of the destruction using geographic information system (GIS) technology. The goal is a mapping method that helps aid in reconstruction.

Forever chemicals are in our waterways and oceans. Recent research by VIU alum Misha Zvekic shows they are also turning up in marine life.

Forever chemicals, also known as Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances or PFAS, are persistent, human-made substances. They’re called forever chemicals because they hardly break down in the environment and could last for decades. These chemicals are commonly found in stain-resistant and water-repellant consumer products as well as some firefighting foams.

Members of the Vancouver Island University community may remember Kayla Passmore for her role as team captain of the Mariner’s women’s volleyball team, helping to lead her team to four national championship victories. But she was an active member of the VIU community in many other ways, organizing major events, leading tours and helping new students in residences.

Nova Heartland is investigating mental health supports in educational environments. The Master of Education in Educational Leadership grad’s research focused on K-12 school systems and found there is “unfulfilled potential” when it comes to implementing and scaling up these resources with educational systems.

Trinity LaRose credits the Women in Trades Training (WITT) program at Vancouver Island University with kick-starting her interest in a career as an automotive service technician. The 12-week sampler program offers students the chance to experience to try all the different trades programs VIU offers and find out what they like the most.

“I ended up really loving the automotive environment and what it offered,” says Trinity. “It got me the most excited.”

While she’s always been drawn to the field of psychology, Mauricea Panchenko wasn’t sure if her interest would develop into anything further, particularly when it came to post-secondary education.

“I waited so long to go back to school because I did not believe it was an option for me,” she says.

Born and raised in Nanaimo, Thomas Leaf says attending VIU was a “logical stepping stone” in his educational path.

When Heather Finlay decided to pursue her Master of Education in Special Education, she knew VIU was the place to do it.

“I had done my teaching program with VIU and they were so supportive throughout,” she says. “When I decided to go back to school to complete my masters, I knew that VIU would be a good fit for me.”

Now, having graduated this past June, Heather says she is excited to share her research with others.

Spencer Antifave didn’t plan on pursuing a minor in psychology when he enrolled at VIU.

However, doing so turned out to be one of the highlights of his post-secondary career. In his third and fourth year, the Bachelor of Business Administration graduate decided to take “a few” psychology courses as electives.