Meet your 2025 valedictorians
As a first-generation university graduate, earning her degree holds a profound personal significance to Paige Pierce. The Bachelor of Education grad explains that this accomplishment is especially meaningful because she comes from a long line of wise, resilient women full of life who didn’t have the chance to pursue higher education due to financial barriers.
As part of our series highlighting VIU’s 2025 valedictorians leading up to convocation on June 9 and 10, we caught up with Paige to learn why she decided to attend VIU and what she loved about her experience. Paige is co-valedictorian with Bree Sinnott for the June 10 morning ceremony.
Why did you choose VIU?
I began my post-secondary journey through Thompson Rivers University and North Island College, graduating from high school in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. As someone born and raised in the North Island, it was important to me to stay close enough to home to remain present for birthdays, holidays and family milestones, while also carving out space to develop a life of my own beyond my Campbell River roots.
VIU offered both a strong sense of community and proximity to the natural environment I grew up surrounded by. I couldn’t imagine being far from the ocean or the forests that shaped my upbringing. At VIU, I found a place where both my academic and personal values could coexist.
Can you share a highlight from your time at VIU?
One of the most defining aspects of my experience at VIU was the cohort I joined in my third year. We were incredibly lucky to develop a strong camaraderie quickly after being thrown together and have spent the last several years immersed in the confusion, comedy and kinship that comes along with navigating the many complexities of becoming educators. What stands out most is the mutual support we’ve offered one another through the twists and turns of life – loss, marriages, career changes and all the growing pains of our twenties and thirties. I look forward to seeing my classmates thrive in schools across the country (and the world) and running into each other out in the wild of the K-12 system.
What are you most proud of achieving since you began your studies?
As a first-generation undergraduate student, the achievement of completing this degree holds profound personal significance. I think often of the women in my lineage in particular – wise, resilient and full of life – many of whom didn’t have the opportunity to pursue higher education. I come from a long line of very intelligent, very personable individuals who did not have the financial capability to pursue the degrees that they may have wanted. While I cannot forget to honour the hard-working web of family members who have created an environment where education was cherished and supported, I am very proud to be graduating in the first place.
What is one thing your fellow students may remember about you after graduation?
I hope my fellow students will remember my long-winded stories, loud laugh, recollections of trips to England, killer bangs and compassion for others. Known as the poetry gal, I hope that they look back fondly on the opportunities I helped to provide in the realm of youth and young adult literacy, art and creativity through my role as Nanaimo’s Youth Poet Laureate.
What advice would you give students following a similar trajectory as yourself?
My biggest piece of advice is to keep going. Trust that you are capable, supported, loved and deserving of your goals. Sometimes things are going to happen that could throw you off kilter, and your trajectory may not be a straight line. Give yourself grace and understand that you can’t be in control all of the time (something I’m still working on). Go for a walk, have a coffee and call your friends. These small joys are there to get you through the tough days.
Can you give us three random facts about yourself?
- I have an irrational fear of fish
- I published my first book at age 15
- I’m named after the host of a reality home renovation show
What’s next for you?
As I step into the next chapter, I hope to begin my career teaching high school English and Social Studies within a nearby school district. My term as Youth Poet Laureate concludes at the end of this year, but I plan to stay connected to the vibrant literary arts community that has supported me so generously. While I do have dreams of pursuing a master’s degree in the future, for now I’m looking forward to slowing down – being outdoors, spending time with friends, travelling and simply enjoying the fullness of life outside of school.
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