sunia staff

Rian Hoyle

Rian is SUNIA's resident botanist, cow enthusiast, climbing nerd, and Executive Director. Rian is super sweet and oddly energetic, who very much enjoys the thrills of life. However, it's not always go-go-go as Rian also loves the simplicities like doing puzzles and spending summer nights stargazing. Rian graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in political science and history, which might be why they can name every country's flag. When it comes to music, Rian is probably listening to Joji, System of a Down, the Twilight soundtrack, or Japanese Jazz from the 70s. Aside from bringing the good music, Rian will also bring the good vibes and can’t wait to see everyone this August! At SUNIA, be sure to ask Rian if they're finally caught up on One Piece.

Patrick Harvey

Patrick Harvey is SUNIA's dictionary, thesaurus, and random fact generator. Currently in the Computer Engineering program at the University of Alberta, Patrick's tendency to stay up late reading anything they can get their hands on (wikipedia rabbit-holes, classics of literature, weird webfiction, and more) has caused them to become nocturnal by nature, and has granted them the superpower of perfect spelling. If you're looking for a book recommendation (sci-fi and fantasy particular specialties), want to infodump about a topic that interests you (including at 2am), or want to learn more about the physics of the mantis shrimp or the legal details of digital rights management technology than you'll ever need to know, talk to Patrick at camp!

Delha Mare Mohammad

Delha is currently studying at the University of Alberta and pursuing a Psychology degree. He is an avid gamer and plays a plethora of competitive games. (He is ashamed to say his favorite right now League of Legends...). Delha is also a proud Muslim and is very involved with many student groups within the University of Alberta. The word diverse pales in comparison to the music taste of Delha as he listens to anything and everything (Drake, The Marias, PIANO, Brent Faiyaz and more). MOVIES are the pinnacle of entertainment for Delha as well, focal ones such as La La Land, Dune 2, Interstellar and more! Delha is an enthusiastic enjoyer of historic and interesting facts so if you ever wanna yap about your interests, he's the person you run to!

Jack Bates

Currently a second year student at the University of Alberta, Jack is pursuing a Bachelor's of Science in Immunology and Infectious Disease. He is fated to forever be an amateur gym rat - most prominently due to his aggressive aversion to leg day. At SUNIA, Jack is always down to discuss any camper's area of 3am expertise, from nerd-infused book reviews to the intuitive correlation between superior music taste and life satisfaction (scientific backing pending). Although Jack is beyond excited to meet the campers this summer and get a tour around the topics that interest them, it must be understood that the topic with zero room for debate is what cereal is the best: at the end of the day we have to realize it is Shreddies. Make sure to say hi to SUNIA's bubbliest (most bubbly??) random conversation partner!

Hailey Campbell

Hailey is currently a student at the U of A studying political science and is still looking for that perfect study spot. In their free time they coach youth soccer and analyze professional game footage. While they don't remember the outcomes of every game, they did watch every minute of the 2021 and 2022 UEFA Euros. When Hailey isn't yelling at soccer players, they are jamming to their latest cd find. Their collection extends from Pearl Jam, to U2, and even the Lord of the Rings Soundtrack. Hailey is obsessed with finding the perfect album for every moment and refuses to curate playlists instead. If you have an album recommendation (or want to argue in favour of playlists) Hailey can't wait to hear all about it at camp!

Alena Malykhina

Known as the kid who does it all is Alena: the kid who does almost all. She enjoys dancing, playing volleyball, basketball, tennis, badminton, golf, and way more with her friends and family but aside from being extremely athletic, Alena is also very musical and won't stop going into song. She is currently studying Level 9 RCM Voice and Level 10 RCM piano, planning to become a professional musician and even though you may think she knows about Mozart, she has no memory of him. Outside of studying, she binge watches Gilmore Girls and procrastinates all the time so don't take her advice for studying although she'll always try to give you tips for your new school year. Talk to her during breaks and she might surprise you with what she knows even if its about German or Barbie.

Vaidya Gothi

Vaidya is often found trotting around Edmonton looking for the "most aesthetic" cafes and bookstores, she loves to photograph little pieces of her life, read a variety of books (mostly to write sassy reviews on GoodReads), and watch sitcoms from the early 2000s. She is currently pursuing a Psychology degree at the University of Alberta. She also loves hiking, being bad at rock climbing, and going to antique stores and being sad about old people's stuff. Some of her more serious passions include advocating for period poverty, volunteering, and reading classics. Vaidya is super excited to be a SUNIA counsellor and she is always down to talk about anything and everything (except for 127 hours because it's a really scary movie).

Jess Dancey

With an interest in art and design, Jess is always ready to create, make or do anything fun and innovative. Pursuing sociology at the University of Alberta, they enjoy deep philosophical conversation about pretty much anything and are always down to chat! Jess loves various anime, TV, movies, video games, books - name it, they know it - but their favourite of all time is classic book Wuthering Heights (they've read it 6+ times!) Jess also is totally obsessed with music around the world with top artists from almost every continent. Be sure to ask Jess about their tastes and tell them about yours when you see them at camp in August!

Tejaswi “TJ” Bhandari

Tejaswi, outside of classes, spends most of her time teaching yoga and meditation to kids. As an avid games fan, she is always scouring the web for new games to play, with her top three favorite games being Clue, Chess, and Contexto. When she’s not doing yoga or playing games, you might find her watching documentaries on random subjects or listening to crime podcasts. She has a great fascination for the planet and in the summer can be found making miniature gardens filled with different fruits and vegetables. In her spare time, you can find her cooking crazy recipes, reading mystery novels and out on long walks with friends and family. She loves having conversations about anything and everything. She can't wait to meet you at SUNIA and be sure to ask her for a riddle or game recommendations!

Jorja Tupper

Jorja is currently pursuing a political science degree at the University of Alberta. In her free time, Jorja likes to peruse various wikipedia articles on niche topics, read books from her extensive book list (collected from her job at the EPL) or listen to the newest “underground” band she’s found (current is radiohead, have you heard of them?). Music is ultimately her biggest love, playing the saxophone for over 7 years and piano for 3, and exploring a new music genre every week. She is also obsessed with fruit of all varieties. Jorja is passionate about climate change, social justice, and bridging the gap of inequality, and is grateful to be apart of SUNIA. Her entire personality is built off of niche internet references no one has ever heard of, and if you see her around at SUNIA, try one out at her and see if she can keep up!

Josh Soldan

Josh is currently studying at NAIT for an EMR certification to one day be working for Edmonton Medical Services. His favourite music genre is “anything under the sun except country” (sorry), with top listened to artists being The Avener and Hozier in 2022. Having hobbies such as forging or printing 3D models, Josh is always creating or thinking something up in his garage if he thinks he can make it (which is everything). A big enjoyer of skiing, playing badminton, and doing pretty much anything outside on a breezy and chill summer evening. Josh only knows 2 card tricks that he can show to you if you show him one first!

Emily Alexander

Emily is currently pursuing a degree in Honours Chemistry at the University of Alberta. Although she spends a good part of her evenings studying, she always finds time to add a new movie or tv show to her ever-growing list, which ranges from The Princess Bride to Interstellar (and she'd love to hear new recommendations!). When she's not hidden away in her room, she can be found playing soccer, working out at the gym, or teaching herself a new instrument. Currently, she has dabbled in the piano and the saxophone, as well as the acoustic, electric and bass guitar. If anyone can play the drums, make sure to hit her up so she can fulfill her lifelong dream of starting a band! Emily is so excited to meet you all at camp and chat about anything and everything under the sun.

Mihir Rao

Meet Mihir, SUNIA’s resident LinkedIn extraordinaire. If not on stage bringing characters to life, you can find him experimenting in the kitchen and creating new recipes (let them eat cake!!). Jamming out to songs from around the world, Mihir is constantly expanding his music taste (latest additions: latin jazz & amapiano). Lately, his favorite pastime has been finding two completely obscure, unrelated Wikipedia articles and clicking hyperlinks to get from one to the other in the fastest time possible. Beyond being a tourist in his own city (he takes pictures of everything), Mihir is a true globetrotter at heart – his bucket list seriously knows no end. Challenge him to name all the capitals or see if he can finally draw the world map from memory. To relax, Mihir loves thriller and espionage movies, vicariously fulfilling his younger self’s dream of becoming a spy (RIP agent rao ). With a deep passion for social justice, you can find Mihir engaging with decision-makers at Parliament Hill, leading conversations on global issues, or educating youth on environmental stewardship. Mihir will talk to you about absolutely anything, and cannot wait to meet you out at SUNIA!