Alum of the Month: Lee Cooper
June 18, 2023
French-inspired and set in a 19th century brick-and-beam building, L’Abattoir sprouted up among the cobblestones of Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood more than a decade ago. The restaurant’s executive chef and owner is Lee Cooper, who graduated from VIU’s Culinary Arts program in 1997. The restaurant’s most recent accomplishment is making the Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list this year. The... Read more
Alum of the Month: Ashley Kuramoto
May 20, 2023
From student to teacher to published author Since graduating from Vancouver Island University in 2011 with her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees, Ashley Kuramoto has been working her dream job as a teacher. She’s also a mother and, most recently, a published author. In recent months, Kuramoto has written and illustrated two children’s books that encourage families to explore fun... Read more
Alum of the Month: Xander France
April 27, 2023
Xander France has found the ideal job combining his passions for tourism, sales and marketing. He is Director of Marketing and Sales with the Vancouver Island Ferry Company. This new, Nanaimo-based company is about to launch a downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver fast ferry service. The VIU Bachelor of Tourism Management grad has spent the past 14 years enjoying different roles in the sales,... Read more
Alumni spotlight: Amy Armstrong and Vanessa Young
April 13, 2023
Amy Armstrong and Vanessa Young graduated from VIU’s Bachelor of Interior Design program in 2015. They met during their studies and became good friends. Now they work together as senior co-directors of product design and development at Dvele, a home-building company based in California. We caught up with Amy and Vanessa to learn about their time at VIU and how their education helped them prepare... Read more
Journalist wins award for Indigenous-focused podcast
April 6, 2023
Former Digital Media Studies student Tchadas Leo shares his story Building skills for a career in broadcast journalism brought Tchadas Leo to Vancouver Island University in 2009. Fast forward to today and he now hosts the award-winning podcast Our Native Land. The podcast explores “all things Indigenous and First Nations” and features guests ranging from former BC Premier John Horgan to Cedar... Read more
Alum of the month: Trevor Ballantyne
March 24, 2023
When Trevor Ballyntine was growing up, graduating from high school seemed like a stretch – never mind university. Now Trevor, who graduated from VIU’s Liberal Studies program last spring, is on his way to becoming a lawyer. He recently had the opportunity to meet Justice Russell Brown of the Supreme Court of Canada. We caught up Trevor recently to learn more about what brought him to this stage... Read more
Alum of the Month: Drew Milne
March 15, 2023
Growing up on Vancouver Island, Drew Milne explored the great outdoors whenever he got the chance, so it’s not surprising he gravitated towards a career as a BC Conservation Officer. Last fall, the provincial government recognized him for his excellent service in this role with the Conservation Officer of the Year designation. This is given to conservation officers who go above and beyond the... Read more
Creating the next generation of treatments for substance abuse disorders
January 23, 2023
VIU Psychology alum Dr. Travis Baker receives $2.5-million grant for research Little did Dr. Travis Baker know when he first came to Vancouver Island University more than 20 years ago that it would be the start of a successful career in researching new treatments for addiction. Now an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University-Newark’s Centre for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, he recently... Read more
Alum of the month: Douglas Groenendijk
January 13, 2023
Since graduating in 2019, Douglas Groenendijk has appeared on the reality TV series, Farming for Love, and started developing business plans to start his own farm, Legend Dairy Farms. Groenendijk graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Finance. He was a right-side hitter for the Mariner men’s volleyball team. And during his time on the team he received the 2019 PACWEST... Read more
Alum of the month: Margot Fedoruk
December 15, 2022
VIU’s Creative Writing program helped Margot Fedoruk achieve her lifelong dream of publishing a book. Fedoruk, who graduated in 2021, says much of the material in her memoir, Cooking Tips for Desperate Fishwives: An Island Memoir, was workshopped in various VIU classes. The book follows her adventures of raising a family on Gabriola Island with her husband, who is an urchin diver. Aside from her... Read more