Hi everyone,
As we move through the final weeks of summer and begin looking toward another fall semester, I wanted to start a regular communication update with the whole PRC Community. It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time and am finally getting around to committing to it. As most of you know, I took over ownership of Pacific Rim College in December 2024 and then Pacific Rim College Online (PRCO) mid 2025. As I had never been fully involved in that business it really took (and is still taking) a lot of my time and energy. That has left me feeling more disconnected to my PRC Community and the reality is that I miss all of you! One of the best parts of PRC is the people that it attracts – staff, faculty and students. I want to ensure that I am still engaged in this community that I love.
My goal is to create something each month. There will be times where there may not be a lot to share and then some months there will be a lot! This will likely be one of those busier messages as I have never done it before and there is a lot going on!
Education is changing.
As you have undoubtedly noticed in the media and from your own personal experiences, this is an interesting and sometimes challenging time for post secondary education in Canada. We are navigating changes from Student Aid, International student regulations, regulatory agency changes with the PTIRU and others. These changes put pressure on everyone as it requires doing things differently and sometimes leaves you being unsure if you will be impacted.
Changes affecting international students, student financial assistance, affordability, and the broader economic environment are having very real impacts on students and educational institutions alike. I want you to know that our team is actively paying attention to these changes and advocating to try to minimize the impacts felt by the PRC community.
PRC is celebrating 20 years!
It’s remarkable to write that. Pacific Rim College welcomed its first students in 2006, which means this fall begins our twentieth year as a College and starts the journey toward our 20th anniversary in 2027.
A lot has happened in two decades.
Thousands of students have come through PRC. Our graduates have gone on to build practices, businesses and careers throughout Canada and around the world. Hundreds of instructors have shared their knowledge here. And our student clinics have provided an extraordinary amount of accessible healthcare to the Victoria community. There are also people still teaching and working at PRC today who were part of the College in its earliest days.
I am truly honoured and humbled to have been here from the beginning. To be a leader of such an incredible place of dynamic transformation is not lost on me. In fact, I try my hardest every day to improve what I can, promote what is working well and share the lives of the people that make this community so special – all of you.
We are working on ways to celebrate and share the story of the college more widely. I am always surprised to run into someone who has been in Victoria for as long as PRC and they have never heard of us! With all the opportunities we provide to the community, I want to find new ways to get our story out more. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them!
Telling the PRC story
One of the ways that we have approached getting PRC out in the community is by creating a short video of life at PRC. We began that process on August 15th with several students, instructors and staff sharing their time to be filmed on campus. It was amazing! I was so proud to see everyone so happy and excited to be a part of it. Thank you to all of you who were able to attend!
We are having another day of filming later in August or September and I will send out an announcement closer to the date. We would love to have more people involved to showcase our programs and clinical offerings.
Health and wellbeing at PRC
As a health college, we have always been mindful of the health and wellness of our staff, students and faculty. One of those ways has been providing treatments to one another in our student clinics. It is magical to see the transformation of health that can happen through clinical sessions. I have firsthand experienced of this with herbal and nutrition consultations and acupuncture sessions at PRC.
We are now looking at finding other ways to provide more preventative health services. We recently started a small project of offering by donation yoga on site with PRC Faculty, Melody Walford. We will be carrying this on through the Fall semester so please look out for the announcements as we would love to have you participate! We know classes and clinics can be challenging, and this is a great way to unwind and find some balance in your life.
Another opportunity we are working on is online meditation sessions with our PRC Instructor, Tiffany Robinson. Tiffany teaches meditation electives but wanted to make this opportunity more open to the PRC community which is incredible. The plan is to have these offerings begin this Fall so watch out for those announcements too.
We spend a great deal of time teaching people how to support the health and wellbeing of others. I think we should continually ask how well we are supporting the health and wellbeing of the people who study and work here. I hope that these initiatives start to create more opportunities for wellness in our community and that we build momentum to offer more. I would love to hear more ideas about offerings from you!
Reimagining Permaculture
Another project I’m excited about is the future of our Permaculture program. Permaculture has been part of PRC for many years, but rather than simply continuing to offer the program in its current form, we’ve taking the opportunity to step back and reimagine it.
The plan is to release the new program information this Fall and be ready for a relaunch in Summer 2027. The new program will continue to be hands-on and create new leaders in the field of permaculture. I think this reimagined program will align well with our Community Herbalist and Practical Nutrition Certificate programs and for those looking to want to grow more food and medicine in a sustainable way. I can’t wait to share all of the details with you!
Congratulations, grads!
I know that some of you are now finished your program. Monday was the last day of the Summer 2026 semester and for some of you that represents the completion of your program. Congratulations to you all! It really is such an incredible accomplishment. It is not just about academic learning, but about the new person you become by having gone through all of these life lessons. I am so incredibly proud of all of you!
Another item that we are working on in the background is a mentoring program that allows graduates to maintain a relationship with PRC post-graduation. Having been a graduate myself, many years ago, I understand the feeling of isolation that can sometimes occur after being surrounded by so many likeminded people. It can feel very challenging. My hope is that this new program will help ease that transition and create even more competent and qualified practitioners out there!
And now, toward September
Soon the quieter rhythm of summer at PRC will disappear and the classrooms, hallways and clinics will become busy again. New students will arrive. Returning students will move another semester closer to graduation. Our clinics will fill with patients. And another academic year at PRC will begin.
I am always excited at this time of year. So many new faces (some of whom I met at the filming last weekend). One of my most enjoyable things is to do orientation with new students and hear what programs they are taking and where they are from. It is heart warming to hear the stories of how so many people found a common place to call home – either for a few months or many years. I love it.
That’s the kind of thing I wanted to share with you. I will make myself more available on campus this Fall and would love to meet with you and hear how things are going. My goal is always to make PRC the best place to learn and grow which happens best by hearing and seeing it through all of you here.
If you have an idea for PRC, something you think we’re doing particularly well, something you think we could do better, or simply something you think I should know, please reply. I really do want to hear from you. I continue to host the President drop-in sessions and look forward to connecting with you all directly in person and online.
Enjoy these final weeks of summer. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in September—and to everything that our twentieth year might bring.
Warmly,
James Christian