Traditional territory of the Sc’ianew First Nation/Metchosin – Victoria resident Rebecca Beauchamp brings her Māori Indigenous knowledge and experience to her new role as Pearson College UWC’s first Director, Indigenous Initiatives and Engagement.

“I have had the honour and privilege to work alongside Indigenous communities here on Vancouver Island and in Aotearoa,” said Beauchamp who most recently was Manager and Team Lead for the XaXe STELITKEL Early Years Center at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre and previously lived and worked in New Zealand.

“Today, I live, work and raise my children on Lekwungen territory and I tread respectfully as a visitor upon these lands.” Beauchamp identifies as Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand, on her father’s side and English/Scottish ancestry from her mother who is second-generation, Victoria-born.

Since 1974, Pearson College UWC has annually welcomed up to 200 students from across Canada and from 160 countries around the world. The College, located along Pedder Bay in Metchosin, was the first in Canada to offer a pre-university International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and this fall, will introduce a new IB-based Climate Action Leadership Diploma program with both educational streams emphasizing a place-based approach to teaching and learning.

“We are privileged to live and learn on a magnificent campus overlooking the bay and integrated into the surrounding rainforest,” said Head of College Craig Davis. “We recognize and understand these are gifts that have been stewarded by our friends within the Sc’ianew First Nation community and by the many Coast Salish peoples who visited this area since time immemorial.”

As Director, Indigenous Initiatives, and Engagement, Beauchamp will guide implementation of the College’s Indigenous Vision and Reconciliation Action Plan with responsibility to lead and strengthen Indigenous education support and the College’s engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations. She will also help develop, support and implement Indigenous educational programming, such as language, culture, and land-based initiatives, including working with faculty to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and seeing into their curricula.

“I believe our responsibility as educators is to support the teaching to and the learning of children and young people as well as to nurture and care for their wellbeing in a holistic way,” added Beauchamp. “At Pearson, I want to develop and support culturally responsive and culturally safe educational and community-driven programming which in turn helps support Indigenous students learning and living at the College.”

Davis added that Beauchamp’s role was identified in the College’s Indigenous Vision and Reconciliation Action Plan and complements steps including new SENĆOŦEN language names and artwork for student residence houses and the recent announcement that the College would contribute 14 hectares of Pearson-owned lands as part of a proposed Indigenous Protected Area, to preserve ecologically and culturally important lands.

Beauchamp officially assumed her new role on 1 April.

This summer, the campus of Pearson College UWC in Metchosin will again take on a younger vibe with Pearson Experiences Summer Outdoor Leadership Day Camps for 6 to 14-year-olds.

Located on the traditional territory of the Sc’ianew First Nation along Pedder Bay, the Pearson campus provides acres of green space, adjacent forests and safe water access and all the amenities for an awesome childhood experience this summer. Registration Opens April 6, 2022!>

Read the full media release.

Traditional Territory of the SC’IA⁄NEW First Nation – An unprecedented friendship has formed with the goal of creating an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in an area known as Mary Hill. An agreement was signed today by SC’IA⁄NEW First Nation, alongside project supporters: District of Metchosin, Habitat Acquisition Trust and Pearson College UWC.

Read the full news release on the Te’mexw Treaty Association page

The climate emergency is such that we need to start educating young people from all nations earlier on how they can most effectively take action through a variety of education pathways and their subsequent professions.

Read the full news release that was submitted to The International Educator and other media outlets.

Pearson College UWC has been nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize! To be completely accurate, the United World College movement, of which Metchosin-based Pearson was the second school to join back in 1974, was recently nominated for the prestigious award.

Read the story submission to the Metchosin Muse and/or the media release to local media outlets.

Mid January we are gradually welcoming Pearson students back to campus for the spring term after their well-earned respite during the annual Winter Break!

A gradual return allows us to set up a limited rapid test regime for returning students (and staff and faculty) on campus and ensure that all students comply with applicable federal regulations regarding testing and self-isolation for travellers, which vary depending upon their individual situations. For instance, while all Pearson students were fully vaccinated before they left in December to see family and friends, those returning from international destinations (except the U.S.) are required to isolate until they receive a negative test result upon their return.

Read the full news release.

07 Dec – New Board Members join Pearson College UWC

07 Dec – Stories for January Metchosin Muse

16 Nov – Victoria-area College Partners to Educate More Young Refugees

17 Oct – Please Stand 3 Raccoons Apart…2020 on the Pearson Campus

24 Aug – Restarting at Pearson: Adaptation, Preparation, ‘Quarientation,’ Education

13 Aug – New Pearson Head Begins with a ‘Traditional’ Bay Jump

21 May – Craig Davis Named New President and Head of Pearson College UWC

27 Feb – “From Cave Walls to Keyboards: The Paleolithic Origins of Art and Language”

25 Feb – Meet Canadian youths taking court action on the climate crisis

20 Feb – A One-of-a-kind Theatre Experience: One World Performance & Expo

05 Sept – Pearson Hosting Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke Federal Candidates’ Forum

30 Jun – The Canadians are coming to Pearson!

28 May – Inaugural Race Rocks Challenge a Spirit-lifting Success!

06 May – The Inaugural Race Rocks Challenge is on!

03 Mar – Governor General & Lieutenant Governor meet UWC educators

29 Jan – One World Performance & Expo – A Spring Tradition

10 Dec – MOU between Beecher Bay First Nation, Metchosin and Pearson College UWC

29 Nov – Pearson College UWC alumnae named Rhodes Scholar

09 Nov – Pearson College UWC a Proud member of the Community

11 Oct – APU: Girls on the Move – An Inspirational School for Girls

24 Sept – “Refugees: heros or zeros? Understanding what it means to be stateless”

11 Sept – Metchosin “adds” nearly 200 residents this fall!

10 May – Social Innovation Project raises Funds for International Charities

08 March – Pearson College UWC Hosts Personal Representatives of G7 Leaders

11 Dec – Pearson College UWC Celebrates 60th Anniversary of Lester B. Pearson’s Nobel Peace Prize

29 Nov – Former Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan Appointed Chair of Pearson College UWC Board of Directors

27 Nov – Author and Journalist Andrew Cohen at Pearson College UWC

18 Oct – Pearson College UWC hosts Canadian Citizenship Ceremony

30 Sept – Pearson College UWC hosts renowned facilitator Adam Kahane

05 Sept – Parliamentary Secretary for Youth at Pearson College UWC

29 Aug – The “world” returns to Metchosin (Gazette & Muse)

17 Jul – Appointed Governor General Julie Payette alumna and supporter of UWC

2 Jun – Pearson College UWC announces new CAO Heather Gross

1 Jun – Alumni-led Grassroots Project Honors Longtime Host Family Volunteer and Metchosin Resident “Tita” Dieza

25 Apr – Pearson Hosting Esquimalt-Metchosin All-Candidates Forum

07 Mar – Canada 150: An Indigenous Perspective

10 Feb – David Goa: “Does Faith/Religion Divide or Unite Us?”

09 Jan – B.C. Sen. Yuen Pau Woo Speaks at Pearson College UWC

13 Jan – TEDx “We and the World”