EDUCATION
The Beach District will get a new campus; automotive technicians need creativity; and yoga training for trauma.
This week, as part of the Straight’s continuing coverage of postsecondary education, we’re shining a light on a new university campus, an automotive program that could appeal to artists, and a yoga program that helps address trauma.
UNIVERSITY CANADA WEST INCLUDES HUMANITIES IN BUSINESS EDUCATION
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WHEN MOST PEOPLE see Westbank’s shimmering, twisty tower under construction on the north end of the Granville Bridge, they immediately think about condos. But for Brock Dykeman, president of University Canada West, the Bjarke Ingels–designed Vancouver House complex will become an educational beacon. That’s because in July, University Canada West will occupy more than 90,000 square feet of podium space in what’s being called the Beach District, offering an inviting new campus for prospective students.
“That’s going to be a very, very special place,” Dykeman told the Straight by phone. “It will be a great experience for the students.”
He explained that with more than 2,000 students, University Canada West needed a second Vancouver location to complement its existing campus, which occupies five storeys in the historic London Building (626 West Pender Street).
“We’re developing some more graduate programs—a master’s in innovation and entrepreneurship, a master’s in marketing, and a master’s in emerging technology,” Dykeman said.
University Canada West is the largest private university in Vancouver, and last summer it celebrated its 15th anniversary. Founded by former University of Victoria president and vice-chancellor David Strong, it offers several career-focused programs. According to Dykeman, there’s a strong emphasis on learning that can be applied to future careers.
“Our biggest program is our master’s of business administration,” he said. “We have specializations in leadership, marketing, and finance.”
Dykeman added that there are plans for an innovation lab in the new campus at Vancouver House, which will be useful for students who specialize in the future of emerging technology.
The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs has accredited the MBA program, which has also been approved by B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education. One of University Canada West’s objectives is to prepare students for leadership on the global stage. Courses are offered on a quarterly basis.
“All the programs are offered online and in class, which makes them flexible for local students,” Dykeman said. “Part-time students could choose to take a course online or they could take it face to face in a given semester.”
In addition to the MBA program, University Canada West also offers three undergraduate programs: a bachelor of commerce, a bachelor of arts in business communication, and an associate of arts.
Those who graduate with a BCom gain a broad and comprehensive understanding of contemporary business practices. Dykeman said there’s an opportunity for them to pursue a specialized BCom degree in accounting.
The bachelor of arts in business communication is an interdisciplinary program, offering students deep insights into media, cultural studies, and business. According to University Canada West, this program is relevant to anyone working as a professional writer or in journalism, public relations, communications, and advertising.
The associate of arts degree is a 20-course program designed to prepare students for additional postsecondary education or to join the workforce. There’s an emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving, written and oral communication, research skills, and mathematical and scientific reasoning.
To date, most of University Canada West’s students have been international, with about 20 percent tracing their roots back to Iran. Dykeman said the school has also attracted many students from India. But with the development of the new campus at Vancouver House, the president is hoping to draw more local students in the future who will be attracted to both the facility and the burgeoning neighbourhood near the seawall.
“We’re not aspiring to be a research university like UBC,” Dykeman emphasized. “But we are aspiring to prepare people for their careers.”
He is particularly proud of the university’s faculty, which includes a lot of young academics from diverse backgrounds. As an example, he cited Naïma Cherchem, who obtained her PhD in business administration in France and then pursued a postdoc at HEC Montreal. Cherchem’s research focuses on strategic entrepreneurship in family and nonfamily firms, as well as entrepreneurship in emerging countries.
“She’s working in lots of collaborative projects across the university,” Dykeman said.
Another faculty member, Elsie Chan, once won the University of Victoria’s highest teaching honour. Diep Nguyen, an expert in finance, accounting, and risk management, obtained her PhD from the University of Western Ontario. Other faculty members—such as Marc
Edge and Eli Sopow—had successful careers in the media before obtaining their PhDs and becoming scholars. Yet another, Karen Tankard, was a CBC News reporter for 22 years.
The undergraduate-program chair at University Canada West, Charles Carroll, has a PhD in comparative literature from City University of New York, as well as an MBA in marketing from Boston University, an MFA in poetry from Emerson College, and a BA in philosophy from Vassar College.
“We’re a business institution that also teaches the humanities,” Carroll said in a video on the university’s website. “So one of the goals of the undergraduate program has been to integrate the humanities and the social sciences into the teaching of business.”
VCC AUTOMOTIVE STUDENTS PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS
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of poorly paid artists in Vancouver. But Tate Westerman studied fine art and still managed to earn a decent living, thanks to his passion for automobiles. In 1995, he studied to become an automotive technician at Vancouver Community College because it was a pathway for him to express himself creatively and escape poverty.
“I was a starving artist for a while and I realized I couldn’t raise a family on it,” Westerman told the Straight by phone.
He had learned some things about the automotive trade from his father and grandfather. His two options were to become an auto mechanic or an autobody-repair specialist—and autobody seemed to be the more creative option. While in his 30s, he bought his own shop in Port Moody—and similar opportunities exist today for those who obtain interprovincial Red Seal accreditation.
“There are lots of opportunities to buy into existing body shops [and] to open up your own restoration shops, even at home.”
Twenty-two years later, Westerman returned to VCC to become an instructor in transportation trades. He said that anyone interested in enrolling can visit the college and take a free tour and learn how to become an automotive collision repair or refinishing technician. According to him, those with an artistic eye can really excel if they’re also attentive students who show up on time and try to do their best.
Westerman pointed out that a technician can do a beautiful repair in a customer’s vehicle yet leave greasy handprints on the steering wheel. And that’s what the customer will notice, no matter how well the job was done.
He added that women are far more prominent in the industry in the 21st century, which is a big change from when he entered the business.
“Women tend to take a bit more attention and care,” Westerman said, “but having an artistic eye and good hand-eye coordination is very important [in] this industry to become successful.”
With baby boomers retiring, Westerman said there is increasing demand for technicians. Companies like BMW and B.C. Transit ask about the best students before they’ve even completed their coursework.
“When they exit the program, they are already either signed up as an apprentice or offered a scholarship or offered an apprenticeship or a job,” he said. “So right now the
industry is really strong and is actually paying to have these students come. They’re paying good wages and are willing to pay incentives, like signing bonuses.”
The automotive collision repair technician program will accept its next group of students in September. It’s a full-time, eight-month certificate program at VCC’s Broadway campus. The automotive refinishing prep technician program is a fulltime five-month certificate program, also at the Broadway campus. Students can also enroll in apprenticeship programs and obtain a B.C. trade certificate while earning a living in the industry.
For Westerman, it has been a natural progression from being a VCC student to working in the industry, owning his own shop, and then coming back to school to teach the next generation of automotive technicians.
“I think the thing that sticks with me the most—being a graduate and being alumni with the college—is when you start a program at this college, it’s a relationship,” Westerman said. “That sticks with you throughout your whole career and for your life. From the day I set foot at VCC, I always felt welcomed by my instructors.
“I could always come visit, even if I wasn’t a student anymore,” he continued. “I can reach them for advice, for job opportunities, even to come into the shop [when I] need a piece of equipment that I can’t find anywhere else. I’ve always felt welcome there. And most every student that comes through here comes back to visit.”
LANGARA’S YOGA PROGRAMS HEAL MIND, BODY, AND SOUL
MANY PEOPLE THINK of yoga as simply a set of physical and breathing exercises to relieve stress. But Nicole Marcia, interim coordinator and instructor in Langara College’s yoga teacher training and yoga therapy program, says that the 5,000-yearold spiritual practice can also help people struggling with serious health issues, including addiction.
Trauma is what led Marcia into yoga. After surviving a violent sexual assault many years ago, she resorted to alcohol and other substances to manage her nervous system.
“I was introduced to yoga, sort of by accident,” she told the Straight by phone. “And after a couple of years of pretty regular practice, I started to notice a shift in my substance use and the other kind of behaviours that I was engaging in.”
She learned over time that yoga helped bring balance back to her nervous system, which was disregulated in the aftermath of the assault.
“I became very interested in supporting other folks who were struggling with the aftermath and particulars of traumatic experiences, and…in helping them to learn how to use their bodies as a resource for self-regulation,” Marcia said.
She began teaching in 2004, and she obtained a master’s degree in yoga therapy studies from Lesley University in Boston. From 2008 to 2017, Marcia was director of therapeutic yoga programming at the Provincial Health Services Authority’s Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions.
She pointed out that Langara is the only B.C. postsecondary institution that offers certificate programs to become yoga instructors. “All of our instructors are very highly qualified, both academically and in terms of their breadth and education in yoga,” Marcia said. “I think that Langara itself just has a track record of excellence and a reputation for delivering very accessible, high-quality programming for students.”
Langara offers an 80-hour certificate program in therapeutic yoga for pain management. There’s also a 60-hour certificate program in therapeutic yoga for trauma and resilience. In addition, the school has a 250-hour yoga teacher training certificate program, as well as an 800-hour certificate program in yoga therapy for integrative health.
According to Marcia, the programs are not just for people who have taught or practised yoga. The school also welcomes health-care professionals, including registered massage therapists and nurses, who are interested in applying yoga tools and techniques in their work.
Marcia pointed out that it’s not unusual for physical therapists or psychotherapists to enroll in therapeutic yoga for trauma and resilience, even if they’ve never practised yoga. “I think that the western medical system has come to increasingly understand the benefits of yoga as a complementary therapeutic modality for people living with a wide range of health conditions,” she said.
There are lots of opportunities to buy into existing body shops.
– Tate Westerman