Meet our Alumni

After graduating in 2018, Keke went on to study Economics and Data Science at the University of California with a hope to work in the finance industry following her University graduation this year. Throughout her studies in California, Keke has interned for multiple companies such as PWC Consulting and Pimco.

During her time at Westside, Keke enjoyed our close knit community where the teachers and students have a bond that goes beyond the classroom, ‘[my tutors] remembered my birthday, helped me to negotiate a new homestay when I was uncomfortable in my old one, taught me how to be timely, to act responsibly and to have empathy’. She also was impressed by the early exposure to university-style teaching that is offered at our Miniversity. It allows students to arrange the schedule and pace of their day to suit them and each student can have a customized timetable while being supervised by their teachers which can benefit them greatly when it comes to adjusting to university life.

While at Westside, Keke volunteered at the Covenant House in Vancouver and considers her biggest accomplishment since graduating to be working for a local educational project for three years which extended on from her previous volunteering.

Since graduating in 2019, Louis has been studying Mechanical Engineering BEng at the University of Manchester and will be attending the University of Michigan in Fall 2022 to begin his postgraduate studies.

Louis believes that the ‘English 12’ module at Westside not only sharpened his English proficiency, but also shaped his views toward the diverse society we live in through the theory of ideology. He enjoyed the block learning system as it allowed him to focus on a particular module over a certain period of time and also felt the faculty to student ratio was beneficial as it allowed more time and opportunity for consultations regarding academic or personal issues.

‘Through various presentations and seminars, I became brave enough to express myself to a crowd’.

Jayson graduated from Westside in 2019 and since then, he has gone on to study an undergraduate program with a major in Computer Science at the University of Warwick. He received a job offer from the technology corporation Huawei to work as a Software Engineer and has also gained a year of work experience in the technology industry.

Jayson’s favorite thing about Westside was the personal tutor system that is in place. He found security in the fact that he could always book a meeting with his personal tutor where they could talk about any issues, academic and personal. His tutor was respectful towards his ideas while also giving him beneficial suggestions which supported him in his school life and also mentally. He found the Miniversity teaching ways beneficial in helping him adjust to university life quickly by already being familiar with block assignments and group work.

‘My tutors wanted me to be equipped with as many skills as I need to master for university, and I turned out very successful’.

Since graduating in 2019, Bingxin has been studying to become a Finance and Economics Specialist with a focus on data analysis in Rotman Commerce, University of Toronto. During her time at Westside, Bingxin says her favourite thing was how she was provided with a good transition to a proactive university learning style, which requires great self-discipline. The most beneficial part of learning would be critical thinking and logic fallacies she learned in her English and Writing class. She believes this taught her how to position herself in our ever changing world and encourage her to fight her own biases and opinions.

She enjoyed all of the other classes she took here too and believes all knowledge gained have acted as building blocks in being able to demonstrate her own capabilities, ‘the world is so crowded with people and you have to show your capability to stand out, to express yourself’. Westside equipped Bingxin with the perspective needed to face the unknown. During her time following her graduation, Bingxin has maintained straight A’s in her University education, entered a talent program, became a research assistant and received scholarships.

‘Find out who you are to yourself, and then who you are to the world’.

Following her graduation from Westside in 2019, Shawna has since gone on to study at UBC after being offered a spot at their acclaimed Pharmaceutical Sciences (BPSc) program. She became part of the first graduating class in this program after transferring from SFU where she was majoring in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Honours. She has also recently began working as a research assistant in two different labs. In one, she is assisting in the improvement of drug delivery, and in the other, she helps with the research of parasites and how they infect our bodies.

During her time at Westside, Shawna felt the weekly tutor meetings to talk about her future and plans were beneficial in helping her organise her thoughts and plan ahead. She believes it was extremely helpful to have the available guidance and to be able to ask her tutor any questions she felt she needed the answers to. Shawna thinks the most beneficial part of Westside were the small classes and caring staff, both of which enriched her learning and allowed for a stronger connection with her peers and teachers.

'The block systems at the Miniversity was incredibly unique - I had never heard of it until attending Westside'.

Since graduating from Westside in 2020, Thy has gone on to study Law at Queen Mary University of London. She has worked at the Freedom Law Clinic where she assisted lawyers with their client cases by providing legal research and drafting papers on grounds for criminal appeal. Thy also has a poem forthcoming in the Queen Mary Law Journal.

During her time at Westside, Thy appreciated how the teachers were constantly there to help students be the best versions of themselves and encourage them to step out of their comfort zones, 'everyone was welcoming and enthusiastic about learning, which created a very supportive community'. She believes the block systems at the Miniversity played a huge beneficial part in her transition from High School to University, 'by dedicating each month to one module, I had the chance to experiment with different study techniques, and ultimately found the approach I needed to manage my time - which was a godsend once my university readings kicked in'.

She appreciated the tutor groups at Westside where, each week, she was given the opportunity to reconvene with her tutor and classmates, which provided a space for them to discuss their current classes, new learning techniques and any problems they were dealing with. Thy believed this helped her academically while also helping her form bonds with classmates she may not have had the opportunity to otherwise.