Kwantlen Polytechnic University

By: Porsche Campbell, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the spring 2019 BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: India

In May 2020, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) is inviting students to take part in a two-week field school to Colombia’s Calanoa Natural Reserve, an artistic, ecological, and community-focused learning centre located on the shore of the Amazon River. The Amazon makes up a third of Colombia, yet it's one the country's least-explored regions!

By: Porsche Campbell, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the spring 2019 BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: India

By: Porsche Campbell, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: Kochi, India

Porsche Campbell, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the spring 2019 BC Study Abroad: Stories from Abroad Scholarship

Study Abroad Destination: India

Porsche is a twenty-six year old from Vancouver, British Columbia. She is currently studying at Kwantlen Polytechnic University where she is completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team

As I sign off on my time being a Writer-in-Residence for BC Study Abroad, I am thankful for this opportunity to reflect, so profoundly, about my travel abroad. This prolonged self-reflection has allowed for a soul-searching that yielded more meaning-making than I could have ever anticipated. It was Andrew Solomon who once said to overcome adversity, one must “forge meaning and build identity.”

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team

Image credit: Vancouver artist Kenneth Yuan in front of Yves Klein’s IKB (image courtesy of Yuen)

My piece of advice as a Writer-in-Residence is this: wherever you go, visit the local art institutions and expect to be confused by the works. Art is a piece of history crystalized in an object. It is not supposed to be easily understood. And if it is, it’s probably very bad art.

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team

I wish I have more coherent nuggets of ideas to share with you. But alas, I have exhausted the creative well of my journey. For now. Will you indulge me in sharing a few snippets of thoughts leftover from this prolonged journey of self-reflection?

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team

By Alice Wang, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, winner of the 2017 Stories from Abroad Scholarship and a member of the BC Study Abroad Writer in Residence Team