Brenden Bentley-Taylor

Scholarship supports passion for humanitarian work

Brenden refers to himself as a “third-culture kid”. He moved schools eight times between the ages of 10 and 14, following his father’s job to various countries in Asia and never feeling like he belonged. But when he eventually wound up in the child and youth care program at UVic, he discovered that this atypical upbringing enriched his learning and sparked a passion for humanitarian work.

“I filter everything through an international lens,” he says. “I’ve been exposed to developing countries with high degrees of poverty. It changes your perspective on life.”

Returning “home” to Asia

Brenden chose to do his practicum placements in Asia, where he not only felt at home, but also felt he could make a positive contribution. After only a few days volunteering at a day care in a slum in Sri Lanka, he realised he wanted to do more for the desperately poor kids in the area. “If you think of the ladder of life, these kids weren’t even on the bottom rung,” he says. “They spent a couple of hours there, but were unsupervised for the rest of the day.”

Brenden talked to locals and came up with a plan for a full-day program. Then he set to work. By the end of his practicum placement, Brenden had raised start-up funds, secured a space, found volunteers and got the program up and running. 

Life-calling taking root

He returned to Sri Lanka for his second practicum, then moved to Indonesia to work with street children. Each placement rooted his desire for a life that combines youth and humanitarian work. He decided to enter the post-degree professional program in education and seek an international teaching position.

“I’m hoping teaching will give me a stable income stream so I can focus on helping others in my spare time,” he says. Five years of international tuition fees have already exhausted Brenden’s savings, but the David F. Mahoney Memorial Award in education has helped him continue on with the program, bringing him closer to his goals.

“Whatever problems kids face growing up—poverty, violence, or being a third-culture kid, like I was—I want to be the teacher who helps them grow and discover their passions, to leave them feeling better about life and what they can accomplish.”