Nathan Speedie and team foster on-campus student housing culture

As Nathan Speedie, UFV’s new director of student housing, looks up at Lá:léms Ye EverGreen, the brand-new six-storey, 398-bed building on UFV’s Abbotsford campus, he’s struck by the notion that he has returned to a university that has grown and changed in many ways since he was a student in 2003.

And he’s changed too.

No longer a young student unsure what he’d study or what career he’d pursue, Nathan has returned to UFV as an experienced manager in the student care sector, with a special emphasis on student housing.

Although he transferred before finishing a credential at UFV, he did pick up one lasting connection: he met his wife Robin (BA ’05) in Spanish class on the old Chilliwack campus.

Nathan and Robin built their careers on a global stage, with lots of travel, relocations, adventures, and stints teaching English in Mexico and South Korea and living in Ottawa, Canada’s high Arctic, and the United Kingdom.

Now they’re nestled in the hills of Ryder Lake, outside Chilliwack with their dog Judge, each pursuing a career locally. Robin is a senior consultant with the sustainability and preparedness team at Fraser Health. Nathan is thrilled to have joined UFV’s Student Housing team, where he helps foster the campus culture for students who are studying, attending classes, and living on campus.

“I got into the student housing sector as a progression from teaching ESL and then specializing in homestay accommodation for over a decade,” Nathan recalls.
“It was a great place to start a career. I got lots of experience in customer service.”

The sector also involves a significant amount of crisis management.

“It can range from complaints that bananas are too ripe to floods, fires, and fistfights,” he notes, reflecting on his experiences before joining UFV.

After coming up in the niche world of homestay and several educational start-ups, Nathan diversified into a combination consulting and operations with 4stay, a student housing company dedicated to assisting post-secondary institutions managing student housing on- and off-campus across North America.

“That job provided me with great exposure in how things related to housing are done in different places, ranging from the western United States to Halifax to Hawaii.”

Now that he’s back at UFV, Nathan notices a big difference that two decades of growth and the development of student housing, which started when Lá:lem te Baker opened in 2006, has made.

“Having people who live on campus, and being able to offer that to students, has had a real impact on the mindset and feel of the Abbotsford campus,” he says. “And now that we have even more capacity with the new building opening, it’s a great opportunity to step up and grow into a different kind of university.”

While international students have traditionally made up a large share of the student housing population, Nathan sees the opportunity to draw in students from other parts of the Lower Mainland, British Columbia, and Canada as UFV’s reputation grows.

“We have evolved to a point where we can serve the Lower Mainland, and housing and on-campus dining are a big part of that. Students who live a bit too far to commute every day have the option to live here. Student athletes also like the convenience of living on campus.”

He even sees potential for local students who want to try living away from home.

“We have quite a few students from the Lower Mainland. It’s a great stepping stone for independent living.”

The new building triples the capacity of student housing on campus and with the decline in international student enrollments, that means a big part of Nathan’s job is marketing. He’s working closely with the Future Students office and is always happy to arrange tours for potential tenants.

“There’s a lot of interest, and it’s always fun to see the reactions people have to this incredible new space. Applications are pouring in for Fall 2026,” he notes.

He encourages interested parents and students to check it out as the building is not yet full.

As he looks back at his own time as a UFV student, he remembers the good friends he made and the quality of teaching.

“The quality of education was better here than any other institution I attended,” he notes. “I felt noticed and my needs attended to when I was a UFV student.”

An optimist at heart, Nathan is looking forward to a bright future with the on-campus community playing a vital part in the university’s development.

“In five years, I see more than 600 students living here. It will be transformational, in tandem with development in the U-District adjacent to campus. This won’t be passive change. UFV will be driving it.”