Meet our alumni: Ana Valle Rivera
November 28, 2025
Ana graduated from UVic's BCYC program in 2021, and has gone on to be a leader in the early childhood education sector in BC and Canada. She's accomplished a lot in four years, including presenting a TEDx talk; completing a Master's of Professional Education in Early Childhood Education; working with over 100 clients nation-wide; growing her own business, Early Years Thriving (which has served over 14K educators across Canada); and presenting at a multitude of conferences. She currently supports practicum students at a local college.
Looking back on her time in the CYC program at UVic, Ana is grateful for the supportive environment she found there. "I started the program with a toddler and while working part time. During the program I had my second baby and thanks to having supportive instructors and peers I was able to continue my studies during my mat leave." She goes on to say, "The CYC program gave me an interdisciplinary perspective on child care. The connections made in the CYC program to counselling, psychology, social justice, child welfare and so much more has helped me connect with a broad number of people with different backgrounds and worldviews."
As to the future? Ana hopes to pursue a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and eventually transition into an Early Childhood Education faculty position that allows her to continue her community work. She wants "to continue to positively impact the early years community through workshops, keynotes and teaching."