Alumni Feature: Indigenous Education Advocate Tasha Brooks

By Jenn McGarrigle

Ten years ago, Tasha Brooks was struggling through the accounting classes she had to take as part of her Bachelor of Business Administration degree and wondering what her career options might be if she quit. 

Fast forward to 2017, and Brooks just finished her dual Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in International Management degree at VIU, and she started a Doctorate of Business Administration this fall with the help of a $16,000 scholarship from the Royal Bank of Canada’s Aboriginal Student Awards Program. 

One highlight from her master’s degree experience was a unique internship opportunity at VIU Cowichan, through which she’s played an important role in advancing Indigenous education initiatives at VIU. During the internship, she investigated ways to make the campus even more relevant and welcoming for Indigenous learners. 

The internship required her to interview faculty and staff at the campus and delve into the history of Indigenous education. She wrote up her findings and recommendations in a report that Campus Academic Administrator Warren Weir, who was also her internship supervisor, will use to inform a strategic education plan for the campus. At graduate school, Brooks is interested in studying the social development impacts of increased access to education. In the meantime, she maintains her ties to the institution as a VIU Indigenous Education Navigator. In this position, she connects with potential students in First Nations communities to help remove barriers to attending post-secondary. 

“I’d like to focus on Indigenous business education, and I feel like this place is where I can make a difference and do more for my community,” Brooks explains.

*This article originally appeared in the Winter 2017/18 edition of VIU Magazine. Check out more stories on the VIU Magazine webpage.