Aqua Essence Staff Profiles
Rishona Hyman
Rishona is an energetic, devoted mom with 2 young kids, Gregory and Izzie. Rishona started Aqua Essence 11 years ago and by the spring of her first year Rishona hired her first employee and Aqua Essence has grown into what is now Aqua Essence Swim Academy. Rishona has 3 University degrees, a B.A., an interdisciplinary Master of Arts Degree (Women's Studies, Native Studies and Social Work) and a Master of Social Work Degree from New York. Rishona always combined her social work practice and teaching swimming until she had her first child in 2008. Teaching swimming is Rishona's true passion; she absolutely enjoys all the kids as if they were her own and feels the same way about the staff at Aqua Essence. She loves being in the water and watching kids go from beginners to veterans. Rishona has a long history of water related involvement and it has always been part of her life. When she was younger she dabbled in synchronized swimming and then in High School and University she played on the Provincial Water Polo Team. She has lifeguarded on lake of the woods (Ontario), lake Kalamaka (Oyama, B.C) and by pools (for the City and private) in Winnipeg and Israel. Rishona's favourite thing to do in the water is butterfly and her National lifeguarding recert. She hopes to one day compete in a lifeguard competition!
Bradley Abells
This is Bradley's second year teaching with Aqua Essence! He is looking forward to a great year! Bradley is currently in grade 12 at Grant Park High School. He spent his summer as a counselor at Camp Massad. In his spare time he likes to play tennis, listen to music and watch movies! His favourite stroke is the breast stroke.
Yael Berkowitz
This is Yael's second year with Aqua Essence. She is very excited for the upcoming year! Yael is in her first year at the University of Manitoba. In her spare time, she likes to hang out with friends and watch movies. Her favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Natasha Brown
Natasha is an energetic grade 11 student at Grey Academy. She plays basketball for her school, and enjoys horseback riding. Natasha enjoys spending her summers at BB Camp. Natasha is excited to teach for her second year and her favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Alex Dashefsky
This is Alex's second year working with Aqua Essence. Alex is in grade 12 at Grant Park High School and is excited to graduate this year! In his spare time Alex enjoys playing tennis, singing and play instruments. Alex is looking forward to this swimming year as he hopes to continue learning and passing on knowledge to his students!
Tracey Fingas
Tracey is excited to be back for her fourth year of teaching swimming with Aqua Essence Swim Academy! Tracey is in her fifth year of university and is in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. Originally from Portage la Prairie, Tracey learnt how to swim there and also spent time lifeguarding/teaching swimming in Portage. In her spare time she enjoys hanging out with friends, traveling and volunteering. In the swimming pool Tracey likes to teach front crawl.
Rachael Floom
Rachael is 20 years old and this is her fourth year being employed with Aqua Essence Swim Academy. She is currently completing her third year of University at the University of Manitoba and will be graduating this coming April with a Bachelor of Arts degree and plans on continuing her education with a Graduate Program. During the summer months, Rachael is an employee of the City of Winnipeg and works as a Wading Pool Lifeguard. Rachael enjoys her job because she gets to give her swimmers the skills and guidance they need in order to grow from new and inexperienced to confident and successful swimmers!
Tali Floom
This is Tali's fourth year working for Aqua Essence. She is in her second year at the University of Manitoba studying psychology. In her spare time Tali enjoys running and hanging out with her friends. Tali is very excited to challenge her swimmers and see them progress during this swimming year!
Mikaela Garfinkel
This is Mikaela's fourth year teaching for Aqua Essence. She is in her second year at the University of Manitoba. In her spare time, Mikaela enjoys running, volunteering at the rehab centre for children and competing on the bison track and field team. Mikaela's favourite stroke is the breast stroke.
Josh Goldstein
Josh is a grade 12 student at Grey Academy. This past summer Josh loved working as a counsellor at Camp Massad! Josh played baseball for six years and he mainly played as back catcher. Josh performed in his high school's musical Pippin and he enjoys acting! This is Josh's second year teaching with Aqua Essence. Josh's favourite stroke is breast stroke and he is so excited to be teaching this year!
Lanette Griffith
Lanette Griffith has been a swim instructor for four years, but this is her first year with Aqua Essence. Swimming is her passion! Lanette swims middle distance freestyle and backstroke for the University of Manitoba Bison Swim team. She in her second year of university and is majoring in Psychology.
Jevian Haywood
This is Jevian's first September to April year of teaching with Aqua Essence, although this is her fifth year teaching swimming lessons. She enjoys teaching at the lake and in the city. Jevian is in her third year, at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology and minoring in French. Après l'université, Jevian veut devenir psychologue. Elle aime nager, spécialement le front-crawl, et faire les plongeons. Jevian avait joué le volley-ball pour l'Université de Brandon pendant 2 ans, maintenant elle joue pour une équipe de soccer et elle aide avec l'entrainement d'une équipe de volley-ball. Elle est excitée de continuer avec Aqua Essence cette année!
Roman Koshevatsky
This is Roman's first year teaching for Aqua Essence. He is in his first year at the University of Manitoba. In his spare time he likes to play guitar and listen to music. Roman is very excited to see his kids progress throughout the year. His favourite stroke is front crawl!
Jordan Koerner
Jordan is 21 and this is his first year teaching with Aqua Essence. Jordan is a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Manitoba. He enjoys golfing and playing soccer. Jordan's favourite stroke is front crawl.
Michelle Koerner
This is Michelle's first year teaching with Aqua Essence. She is going into her third year at the University of Winnipeg, working on getting her degree in Education. She was a member of the Winnipeg Wave Swim Club. She enjoys running and her favourite stroke is breast stroke. She is looking forward to her first year of teaching with Aqua Essence.
Daniel Kroft
This is Daniel's second year teaching for Aqua Essence. He is a grade 12 student at Grey Academy. In his spare time he plays guitar, piano and base. This past summer he was a counsellor at BB camp and last year he went to Israel for a two week exchange. Daniel speaks three languages and is fluent in two. His favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Gabrielle Levin
Gabrielle is a third year student at the University of Winnipeg, majoring in math. She graduated from St. John's Ravenscourt. She is planning to go into medicine. Gabrielle volunteers at CancerCare, working specifically with children. This summer, she travelled to Asia where she went scuba diving and climbed two volcanoes. This is her fourth year teaching for Aqua Essence. Gabrielle took all her swimming lessons with Aqua Essence. Her favourite stroke is breast stroke. Après l'université, Gabrielle veut devenir médecin. Elle aime beaucoup nager et faire de la plongée. Aussi, Gabrielle adore peindre. Elle a faite du bénévolat au musée des beaux arts à Winnipeg. Gabrielle aime être dehors et dans la nature. Elle adore aller aux montagnes pour faire du ski alpin avec sa famille. Gabrielle est excitée de continuer avec Aqua Essence!
Alex Mielke
Alex is 19 years old and this is his second year teaching with Aqua Essence. He is attending his first year of university at the University of Winnipeg, majoring in film studies. Alex ran his third marathon in June 2011 and completed the Chicago marathon in October 2011. Alex swam competitively for five years. Alex's favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Meaghan Proulx
Meaghan is 19 years old and this is her first year teaching with Aqua Essence. She is in her second year of Kinesiology at the University of Manitoba. In her spare time she loves to play volleyball, tennis, basketball, soccer and do gymnastics. Meaghan went to Australia to compete in gymnastics! Meaghan played piano for 15 years. This summer she taught swimming at Victoria Beach and she was a rec-assistant at Victoria Beach for 3 years. Meaghan coaches volleyball and works at the MTS centre for Jets games. Meaghan is bilingual and her favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Nicole Robak
Nicole Robak is 16 and is in grade 11 at Sisler High school. This is her first year teaching with Aqua Essence. Nicole swims competitively for most of the week. She has swum competitively for 6 years, and is still swimming. She took her teaching courses over the summer, and her favourite stroke is butterfly and backstroke. Nicole also likes to draw, and watch movies in her spare time.
Rachel Rubin
This is Rachel's second year teaching with Aqua Essence. She is a grade 12 student at Gray Academy. In her spare time Rachel enjoys reading, traveling and being active. Her favourite swimming activities are breast stroke and diving. She spends her summers as a counselor at Camp Massad. Rachel is very excited to be teaching again this fall!
Jen Schacter
Jennifer Schacter has been teaching swimming with Aqua Essence for five years. She is a graduate of St. John's Ravenscourt High School and is in her final year at the University of Manitoba, majoring in biology. In her spare time, Jen volunteers with Cancer Care Manitoba and is helping chaperone the Holocaust trip toe Washington D.C. Jen's favourite stroke is dolphin kick!
Sami Semchyshyn
This is Sami's first year teaching with Aqua Essence. Sami is in her first year at University and is hoping to go into medicine. Sami has swam with Manta and has done synchronized swimming in past. Sami volunteers as a football trainer in her spare time. Sami is excited for the upcoming swimming year!
Jordan Shapera
Jordan is an energetic Grade 12 student at Grant Park High School involved in Band and Performing Arts. She enjoys playing saxophone and bass guitar. Jordan also enjoys singing and has performed in every school musical since grade 7. She is an active Hockey Goalie for St. John's Ravenscourt, and enjoys spending her summers as a counsellor at Camp Massad. This is Jordan's second year teaching with Aqua Essence. Her favourite stroke is breast stroke.
Aidan Smith
This is Aidan's first year teaching with Aqua Essence, although it's his fifth year teaching swimming lessons. He just started his 2nd year at the University of Winnipeg. He is studying Bussiness and plans on getting his BBA in Marketing and Advertising. In his free time he enjoys watching movies, going to the beach and playing hockey.
Amber Sucharov-Benarroch
This is Amber's fourth year teaching with Aqua Essence and before that she volunteered with the company for two years. She is in her second year at the University of Winnipeg where she is studying in the Faculty of Science. Amber's favourite activities in the water are diving and breast stroke. Amber also loves reading and traveling. Amber is so excited for this next year of swimming.
Piper Riley Thompson
Piper is an enthusiastic and energetic grade twelve student at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. She enjoys singing, musical theatre, playing the piano and of course, swimming! Piper is proud to be the Prime Minister of the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. This is Piper's second year teaching with Aqua Essence and before that she volunteer taught with the company for one year. She has spent her past two summers teaching swimming with Aqua Essence. Piper is committed to instilling a love of the water and swimming in each of her students. Piper's favourite thing to do in the water is back crawl.
Lexi Van Dyck
Lexi van Dyck is a second year student at the University of Winnipeg. She is double majoring in Women's Studies and Human Rights. Lexi would like to do International Law and work for an NGO. She has been teaching with Aqua Essence for three years. Her favourite stroke is breast stroke. On the side, Lexi performs at weddings and kayaks all summer. She is excited to be back for another season!
Erin Ward
Erin has been teaching with Aqua Essence for six years and absolutely loves to swim! Erin graduated in May of 2011 with a Bachelor of Human Ecology in Family Social Sciences and is currently in her first year of Education at the University of Manitoba. She took her swimming lessons with the City of Winnipeg, as well as dabbled in synchronized swimming for a couple years. Erin enjoys waterskiing at the lake, reading, and drinking tea. Her favourite stroke is front crawl! For the summer of 2011, Erin was the Reading Tent Coordinator for Frontier College. Erin is so excited to be teaching and looks forward to another fantastic year!
Rachel Ward
This is Rachel's third year of teaching with Aqua Essence! Rachel is going into her second year of university at the University of Winnipeg after taking a year off last year. Rachel travelled to Africa for five months, from November to April, where she volunteered in clinics and baby homes in Kenya, as well as a baby home in Uganda. She enjoyed a safari in Tanzania and visited Rwanda on her way home. Rachel is excited to be in the bio psychology program at the U of W and is working hard to get into medical school. Rachel loves riding her bike around the city to work and school. Rachel works as an ABA tutor for children with autism, and also loved working as the specialty camp lead counsellor at Central Corydon Community Centre's River Height's site. Rachel's favourite stroke is front crawl because it is fast for racing in triathlons! Rachel is so excited to be back for another year with Aqua Essence!
Andrew Worb
Andrew is a first year student at the University of Winnipeg. Andrew enjoys teaching swimming and swimming for fitness. His favourite stroke is the breast stroke. Andrew also enjoys music, karate and hanging out with his friends.
Haley Yurman
Haley is in grade eleven at Gray Academy. This is her second year teaching for Aqua Essence and she volunteered with Aqua essence for two years. She swam many levels with Aqua Essence and her favourite stroke is breast stroke. In her free time she enjoys playing volleyball. Haley is very excited to be teaching with Aqua Essence this year!