How UVic co-op student of the year, Jack Taylor, is supporting Indigenous youth in Victoria
Jack Taylor cares about people.
You can find him running a weekly arts program for the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society, or at local businesses during co-op work terms. No matter where he is, Jack will be helping people.
Raised in Manitoba as Red River Métis, Jack learned how family and friends gave him roots. That’s why, as a teenager, he worked with the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and the Red Cross during emergency response efforts to help 1,000 people with short-term housing, supplies and assistance. So when he moved to Vancouver Island for Bachelor of Commerce studies at UVic, his impulse to help kicked in.
As a co-op student, you can find him at Kwench while supporting outreach for Indigenous Roots Coffee Co.—chatting about reconciliation education to everyday people inspiring Indigenous leadership on Vancouver Island. For his first work term, Jack promoted the ḴEL, ḴELOŦEN ȻE S, ISTEW̱ Education Fund, which helps Indigenous students pursuing careers in engineering and architecture. Jack was named the 2025 UVic Co-op Student of the Year.
We caught up with Jack to talk about what motivates him to get involved.
How does community shape who you become?
Community is the fabric that bridges family, culture, and support. It is something I have always been able to lean on and fall back to, in both hard times and easy ones. My understanding of community has started to shift as I reflect more on my own personal responsibility, especially through the work I do with Indigenous youth. I am beginning to see community not only as something that supports me, but as something I have a role in carrying forward.
What’s one moment when you realized your work was making a difference for at-risk youth in Downtown Victoria?
I have been working with VIDEA for about six months now. In this role, I facilitate a weekly arts program alongside the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society designed for at-risk youth in Downtown Victoria. The moment when it became clear that my work was making a difference was when I started to see youth frequent regularly and interact with each other. Currently, we have been painting a large mural inside the VYES club, and it has been truly remarkable to see the creativity and talent that the youth have.
Was there a moment when you felt truly seen or appreciated by Victoria?
When I was nominated as Co-op Student of the Year earlier this year, it was a meaningful moment for me. I have tried to be intentional about the work I pursue. I want the things I am involved in to connect to my values, support community, and feel like I am contributing in a meaningful way. I had the chance to speak in front UVic staff, and a few people told me that what stood out to them was my resilience, perseverance, and the way I stayed true to my values. That meant a lot, because I do not think those are always things you see in yourself while you are in the middle of it.
Who from the community had an impact on your educational journey at UVic? What did they teach you?
Frankly, I feel like I belong to many different communities, and over time, they have started to blend together. I am in a unique position where I have been able to build an environment of communities that have each taught me something important.
I am incredibly thankful for the community I was raised in back in Manitoba, including my Red River Métis community, my family roots, and the friends who have been part of my life. The people I surround myself with have always inspired me to keep learning, experience new things and stay open to growth.
I also feel very lucky to be working with organizations like VIDEA and Indigenous Roots Coffee, where I have met influential mentors and gained learning experiences that continue to shape how I see community, leadership, and responsibility. Funnily enough, it is sometimes hard for me to see where my own part in the story begins, because I have such a long list of champions who have helped me get to where I am now. It is truly a great problem to have.
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