VIUSU brought FROSH 2026 to the Nanaimo campus from Sept 15 to 17, bringing students together and connecting them with VIU as a campus.

Entirely organized by student director of events, Mathew Michalopoulos, and assisted by Elissa Miranda, VIUSU campus life organizer, FROSH 2026 was an enormous success, bringing up to 1900 students and alumni to campus throughout the week.

“Events are a powerful tool because [they] are totally funded by students, organized for students, and organized by students,” Miranda says.

This year’s FROSH featured a classic Pancake Breakfast on Tuesday, an Outdoor Movie Night on Wednesday with free on-theme treats, and launched students into the fall semester with the Outdoor Concert & Beer Garden on Thursday. All events were free to attend for students—an intentional choice from VIUSU.

As campus life director, Miranda says that free events are important for student engagement, which is what their job is all about.

“FROSH is a way to make you feel more connected to your campus … outside of the classroom.”

It has been Miranda’s goal to breathe life back into the campus since 2020. “[Campus engagement] has always been something I have been drawn to,” they say.

“In my opinion, your … university experience shouldn’t be academics 100 percent of the time. Post secondary is supposed to help you grow as a person … a way to put yourself out there and enjoy your time, while you’re here learning about what you want to do with the rest of your life.”

Miranda believes that the more students can connect to VIU, the less dropouts the university will face. “If there’s nothing they feel connected to on campus, besides what they’re taking in class, they’ll leave. They can take a class anywhere,” they say.

FROSH and other welcoming events in September help new students in Nanaimo obtain easy access to a bank, phone plan, wifi, and more. “Little things that can go a long way to make students feel like they don’t have to scour across town to find [them],” Miranda says.

Students are also connected with campus clubs, cafeteria services, and other aspects of VIU that make the university feel more like a welcoming community.

So if you’re thinking about attending more campus events hosted by VIUSU, you should. And if you’re interested in becoming a part of the change, join the Board of Directors by running in VIUSU’s annual elections in Spring 2027.

<www.viusu.ca>