Alum of the Month: Jason Lloyd
December 6, 2019
Food and cooking have always interested Jason Lloyd. Growing up, family dinners were an important part of his life; after completing the Professional Cook Training/Culinary Arts program at VIU (then Malaspina College) in 1993, Lloyd’s eyes were opened to the wide range of opportunities the industry offers. Before returning to teach at his alma mater in 2011, Lloyd’s career included working in... Read more
Alum of the Month: Chris Bergen
September 9, 2019
Chris Bergen believes that anyone can excel when they are set up to succeed – a responsibility he says falls to the leader of a group or organization. Through his blog, he writes articles that help people “be the manager you wish you had” and inspire employees to reach their full potential. Now Operations Supervisor with the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Bergen credits his VIU... Read more
Alum of the Month: Jonathan Bauer
July 23, 2019
Moving to New Orleans gave multi-talented trumpeter and composer Jonathan Bauer the chance to hit the ground running after graduating from Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies program in 2014. Since then, he’s gotten a master’s degree, toured parts of the world, started playing with the infamous New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and recorded his own album. His secret?... Read more
Baking Alum Rise to the Challenge of Starting their own Companies
July 23, 2019
Three Vancouver Island University alumni open up about the trials and tribulations of starting their own businesses in Nanaimo. Kara Shedden has always wanted to own her own ice cream shop, and now that her dream has come true, life is pretty sweet. After graduating from Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Baking and Pastry Arts foundation program in 2016, she started her own business... Read more
Alum of the Month: Ebony Logins
June 8, 2019
As a young female politician, Ebony Logins is very conscious of the fact that women are not well-represented in the political sphere. To encourage more young women to enter politics, Logins, who on top of her duties as a Councillor with the District of Sooke Council is also a photographer and community school co-ordinator, is launching a women in politics photo project. The VIU Recreation &... Read more
VIU Grad Pursues Planning Dreams with City of Nanaimo
May 31, 2019
After conducting research that took her around the world, Master of Community Planning alum Lainy Nowak is working as a Planning Assistant in the City of Nanaimo’s Community Development Department. As a Planning Assistant with the City of Nanaimo, there is no such thing as a typical day for Lainy Nowak. The Vancouver Island University (VIU) Master of Community Planning alumna, who started work... Read more
Starting Your Journey at VIU
April 9, 2019
When people think of becoming a doctor or lawyer, Vancouver Island University (VIU) may not be the obvious choice of study, but as a Nanaimo law firm proves, the institute is a great transition to higher post-secondary education. Out of the six lawyers at Johnston, Franklin, Bishop, five of them started their post-secondary journey at VIU. “VIU offered a broad range of course selection and due... Read more
Alum of the Month: Matt Lerner
April 3, 2019
Matt Lerner has always wanted to travel the world. Growing up in Crofton, he dreamed of jumping on a plane and seeing how other people live their lives. He got his wish after graduating from VIU with a Bachelor of Arts, Major in History, Minor in Political Studies, in January 2014. His first stop was teaching English in Georgia. Then he returned to Canada to do a master’s degree in European,... Read more
Alum of the month: Annie Hepp
February 19, 2019
It may take Vancouver Island University (VIU) Biology graduate Annie Hepp a little while to get used to living and working in one of the largest southern United States, where she has landed a position with Texas Parks & Wildlife. “Living in Texas has definitely changed the way I view long distances and road trips! “We have six regions in Texas State Parks and I cover Central Texas to the... Read more
Alum of the Month: Shane Strom
February 5, 2019
Shane Strom’s entrepreneurial journey began when he enrolled in the Bachelor of Hospitality and Management program at Vancouver Island University (VIU). Shortly after graduating in 2015, Strom created his first start-up, GoCampers, with business partner, Scott Mitchell. GoCampers has converted basic cargo vans and transformed them into stylish and functional mobile hotels for travelers to tour... Read more