November 28, 2008 - 7:56am
The academic and humanitarian efforts of overseas students attending Vancouver Island University were officially recognized during International Education Week.
As part of the week-long celebration, VIU President Dr. Ralph Nilson presented scholarships and certificates ranging from $250 to $1,000 to deserving students.
VIU currently has over 1,000 international students from more than 50 countries enrolled in a wide range of programs from English-as-a-Second Language to university degree programs. The 2008/2009 scholarship and award recipients are:
VIU International Student of the Year Award - Weiyi (Vicky) Sang, Alvaro Alfredo Valcarcel Jervis and Chiharu Yamaguchi.
Campus and Community Award - Cailijun (Olivia) Feng.
Around the World award - Junyi Shi
David Jones award - Kevin D’Souza
Peer Helper award - Olesya Brizhak
New Canadian Scholarship - Myungsoo Kim
International Education Academic Excellence Scholarship - Man (Michelle) Dam, Mina Ishioka, Aya Kikuchi, Dong Wook Kim, Siegfried Laupus, Lalla Malika Mouatadid, Anastasia Panova, Noriko Taniguchi, Franxislay Wencopine, Bing Yi Zhu.
International High School International Excellence Scholarship: Toz Kwan (Grace) Cheung.
English Language Program Achievement Scholarship -Chika Hayashi and Liu Yang
BC High School International Excellence Entrance Scholarship - Po-Wei (Oscar) Chang and Ga Na Youn.
Dr. Nilson thanked the students for choosing to study at VIU and for their significant contributions to the cultural fabric of BC and Canada as a whole. "For more than two decades, VIU has been a leader in international education, preparing Canadian and international students to contribute to a changing world. I am very proud of our International Education program and particularly of our international students. You choose to come here to study and learn a lot while you are here, but we as Canadians learnfrom you too."
Dr. Nilson also formally recognized international education students Alex Liang and Lisha Yu, both from China, and VIU Student Activity Planner Jennifer Jensen-Richards, who raised more than $6,000 in a series of events on the Nanaimo campus to help survivors of a devastating earthquake that flattened the community of Wenchuan in the Sichuan province of China last May. Liang was completing a field school in China when the earthquake struck.
“VIU had a connection to an elementary school in Wenchuan,” explained Jensen-Richards. “Some of our Education faculty visited the school, and some of the teachers in Wenchuan came here last year for training. Relationships and friendships were formed.”
More than 80,000 people died in the earthquake, including more than half of the children and teachers attending Wenchuan school. The funds raised are earmarked for the children in Wenchuan to help them get back on track with their education.
Tags: In the Community
