Alexander Betz

My name is Alexander Betz and I am currently a senior at the University of Washington. Having grown up in Renton, a city located within the southern sprawl of Seattle, the Pacific Northwest has always been home to me. I am a transfer student to the University of Washington from my local community college, and each institution I attended offered a unique and valuable set of perspectives and experiences. With this in mind, the opportunity to study at the University of Victoria is invaluable to me. While I have visited Vancouver Island as a child, living there as a student will present me with the chance to develop connections and appreciations that only come with time. I want to make friendships in a place previously unfamiliar to me and see my understanding of my home region and the communities that make it up blossom as a result.

Furthermore, as a student majoring in Biochemistry and Classical Studies I hope to see how these subjects are influenced by the culture in which they are taught. Our countries are tied together in a myriad of ways reflected in my studies: biochemistry appears in natural resource management and classical studies in the understanding of people that have come before. It is my hope that I will be able to take my first-hand experience on both sides of these issues that tie our countries together and continue building on our peaceful relationship.

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The Corbett British Columbia-Washington International Exchange Program Fund provides an opportunity for undergraduate students at the University of Washington to spend two semesters at the University of British Columbia or University of Victoria; and for students from the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria to spend three quarters at the University of Washington.