Alum of the Month: Melissa Ayling
May 22, 2024
One assignment changed the trajectory of Anthropology alum Melissa Ayling’s life. The paper she wrote for an upper-level Anthropology class about baklava and its significance to Middle Eastern identity sparked a passion for studying ancient food systems. “I hadn’t realized that the relationship between food, culture and identity was something you could even study, but I knew then that it was the... Read more
Alum of the Month: Clair Morgan
April 30, 2024
Clair Morgan graduated from Vancouver Island University with a Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design. After graduation, Morgan opened Cosmo Packaging in Chemainus, a brick-and-mortar business specializing in branding and package design. She later transitioned out of this into managing creative projects for start-ups and established companies. “Cosmo grew quickly over four years, attracting clients... Read more
Alum of the Month: Mary Anne Molcan
March 21, 2024
For Mary Anne Molcan, having her lino-block print selected as part of the Boston Printmakers 75th Anniversary North American Print Biennial was an exciting moment. It was amplified when her piece Plexus was also featured in Artscope Magazine, which wrote a review of the artwork featured in the biennial. “It was an absolute honour to have my work profiled in Boston by Artscope Magazine,” said... Read more
Bringing to light the stories of trailblazing women
March 3, 2024
VIU Education grad Haley Healey writes books about boundary-pushing women A desire to share the stories of extraordinary historical women led VIU Education grad Haley Healey to become a published author in 2020. Four years later, the high school counsellor by day, author by night has published five non-fiction adult and children’s books highlighting boundary-pushing women as well as a fiction... Read more
Alum of the Month: Dr. Morgan Mowatt
February 13, 2024
Dr. Morgan Mowatt is an advocate for Indigenous sovereignty in Indigenous-state relations. As a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in Indigenous governance at the University of Victoria, the VIU alum is researching the application of Indigenous authority-making processes to Indigenous-state diplomacy. Their interest in this area of research started when they were an undergraduate student at VIU. Mowatt... Read more
Alum of the Month: Jordyn Monaghan
January 27, 2024
Jordyn Monaghan is passionate about supporting the community with a trauma-informed, harm-reduction and strength-based approach. That passion guided her through her undergraduate degree at VIU, where she studied Psychology and Criminology. Monaghan is now doing a Master of Science in Forensic Psychology at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We caught up with her to find out more... Read more
Alum of the Month: Perry Bulwer
January 14, 2024
Coming to Vancouver Island University (then Malaspina College) in the early 1990s was a turning point in Perry Bulwer’s life. He had dropped out of high school in 1972 to join a fundamentalist Christian cult when he was just 16 years old. When he got out 20 years later, he described himself as “intellectually starving.” The Liberal Studies program helped him overcome his religious indoctrination... Read more
Alum of the month: Marisa Turner
December 20, 2023
Marisa Turner graduated from VIU’s Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Marketing program in 2022 and wasted no time in starting her own design firm – Marisa Turner Design. She’s also giving back to the community with a side venture that aims to inspire. Called @Honey_WomenWhoWin, Marisa interviews successful female entrepreneurs to “help the younger generation realize the range of... Read more
Alum of the Month: Mary Clare Massicotte
October 20, 2023
A self-described lifelong learner, Mary Clare Massicotte enrolled in VIU’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program in 2020 at age 64. By this time, she had retired from her full-time career with the federal government and started her own consulting business. Completing a master’s degree had long been a goal for Mary Clare. She graduated from the program this past spring. We caught... Read more
Alum of the Month: Telma Dos Santos
September 8, 2023
Telma Dos Santos was working as a health care assistant when she first heard about the Activity Assistant certificate at VIU. The program is designed to provide further training for people who have previous experience as a health care aid or community support worker and want to create programming that promotes wellness and fun for those in their care. “I heard about this program from a recreation... Read more