Study Abroad

Last fall we spent 19 days travelling throughout Aotearoa New Zealand’s South Island with the World Leisure Centre of Excellence at VIU. All students were supported with various levels of funding from Global Skills Opportunity Travel Grants, allowing for more freedom in choosing activities throughout the trip. We visited many places including Otautahi Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Te Anau and Ōtepoti-Dunedin.

I went on the Northern Tourism in Practice graduate field course organized by the University of Arctic from October 30 to November 5, 2023. The course is a collaboration between seven partner universities:

I spent three months in Bali this summer interning with a non-profit organization called Yayasan Peduli Kemannusian (YPK). It’s an organization that focuses on helping people with disabilities become more independent through physical rehabilitation. Located in the city of Denpasar, YPK also offers a mobile clinic program to assist clients that live in rural areas.

I arrived in Nelson, New Zealand at the end of June, eager and excited for my internship to begin at the Brook Waimarama Ecosanctuary. For the first time, I was combining my passions for community development and the Earth. When I was searching for internship placements, stumbling upon “the Brook” was a complete accident. I now know I couldn’t have picked a better placement for what I was hoping to both give and get out of this internship.

About the Brook

To understand what the Brook is all about, you first need to understand a bit about the ecology of New Zealand.

Receiving the Queen Elizabeth II Scholarship Award this past year was an honour that allowed me to live the experience of a lifetime and fulfill a dream that I otherwise would not have been able to.