Matthew Callow

I am a fourth-year Geography major student at the University of Victoria. My main interest and focus is surrounding sustainability and active transportation. I have had the opportunity to study outside of the classroom participating in two geography sustainability field schools. One to Northern Europe and the other to the ‘Cascadia’ region (South West B.C., Washington and Oregon).

I am an avid cyclist and use my bike as my main mode of transportation to get to school and around Victoria. One of the most interesting classes I have taken, ‘Biketoria,’ was all about the implementation, by the city of Victoria, of an integrated cycling network in Victoria.

One of my passions is soccer and I was a member of the Uvic soccer team from 2012-2014. I have enjoyed playing all my life and I have also enjoyed volunteer coaching, most recently as an assistant high school boys soccer coach. During my time at Uvic I have organized a coed intramural soccer team for several years and have had the chance to play with and meet all kinds of amazing people.

I am passionate about being active and being sustainable, pursuits that are reflected in my most recent volunteer work. First as a summer hiking volunteer in Vancouver with the Integrated Fitness Society where I assisted individuals with physical or mental challenges complete wilderness hikes. Additionally through my time in Victoria with the Growing Young Farmers Society as a Grower Educator where I helped and encouraged young elementary school students to learn to grow their own food.

Author Marianne Williamson’s quote shown below rings true for me as I have always been an outwardly competitive person but sometimes failed to realize some of my less obvious strengths. Strengths that will help me fit in despite standing out. One of them is consistency. I always look to treat everyone fairly regardless of the situation. Another is being a ‘relator,’ a person always looking to deepen the connection made with another person by really understanding them and establishing a genuine relationship. My family says that I am kind, reliable, and have good sense of humour. I am hopeful that these strengths and traits will help me succeed with my dream of obtaining a masters degree in my area of interest.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us…We are all meant to shine.”