The Torch

The UVic Torch Alumni Magazine is published biannually by the University of Victoria and the UVic Alumni Association and distributed free of charge to approximately 56,000 UVic graduates and supporters.

The magazine builds active interest in UVic by striving to reflect its high level of academic, research, cultural and athletic achievement; the accomplishments of outstanding alumni; the current intellectual, cultural, and social life on campus; and the university’s heritage.

View the latest issue and archives.

Shoot, Score, Dazzle!

UVic graduate Joseph Erlic and his brothers, Jure and Martin, created HoopLight, a fun new way to play basketball. The hoop lights up with a flash that throws a rainbow of pulsing lights when a basket is scored.

Paean to the Prairies

Dion Manastyrski studied biology at UVic, where he honed research skills, and he has years of experience in photography and publishing. He drew on these talents to create Prairie Sunset: A Story of Change, a hefty art book with pages of photos and first-person narratives telling the story of European settlement in the area.

Van Camp's World

Writing grad and storyteller extraordinaire Richard Van Camp (BFA ’97) is back with a new book, Moccasin Square Gardens—a title referring to the nickname for a dance hall in Fort Smith, NWT, where the author grew up.

Scholarship honours grandparents

Tony Giovando (BA ’98, MPA ‘04) credits his time at UVic for helping him create two successful careers. His positive experience at UVic inspired him and his wife to establish the Leonard and Eileen Hamilton Scholarship in Spanish and Italian Studies. The gift honours his grandparents, who were a crucial part of his success at UVic.

Creative Spirits

A UVic alumna who recently made a bold life change. Name: Jessica Schacht, theatre artist and entrepreneur–co-founder of Ampersand Distilling Co. Age: 30. Hometown: I grew up in Victoria and have lived all over Vancouver Island. Now I call Dun…

Switching Tracks

A Writing grad crosses the country by train to pursue music—and finds the new-found freedom unsettling.

A Cure for the Restless

Kelsey Ramsden is the author of Success Hangover: Ignite your next act. Screw your status quo. Feel alive again, released by Lioncrest Publishing last fall. It was written for people who accomplish their long-term goal—such as earning a degree or promotion—yet feel unsatisfied.

Good business

Together, mother and daughter Umeeda and Nareena Switlo run a thriving international food and beverage business that provides needed employment in Belize.

Innovative Apps

Some UVic-made apps save lives, some save time—and others enhance our leisure hours. Here are just a few of the notable apps made on campus or by members of the UVic community.

Diving deep

A talented team of UVic grads creates Hakai Magazine, an online publication exploring coastal life and phenomena through long-form features, stunning photography, comics and videos.

Building better treatments

Stephanie Willerth’s research into tissue engineering and regenerative medicine could be a game changer for spinal-cord injuries, brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and more.

Embracing the dark

Writing grads Jeremy Lutter and Ben Rollo on the appeal of making movies that scare us.

FSAE team on way to competition

UVic’s Formula Motorsport team is off to races after the theft of crucial custom-made parts from the vehicle they built threatened to throw a wrench in their 2019 season.

UVic nursing grad in Africa

UVic alumna Sharon Horton volunteered in Douala, Cameroon for two months onboard the world's largest volunteer-run hospital ship, which provides care to thousands overseas each year. Horton, a nursing graduate, works as an outpatient burn-and-wound nurse in Victoria.

Crossword constructor

Martin Ashwood-Smith (BA ’92) likens his signature crossword puzzles to good magic tricks. Part alchemy, part craft, part art, the Victoria-based constructor who has published 1,000 crossword puzzles—including 85 in the cruciverbalist’s holy grail, The New York Times—starts with a grid. And very few black squares.

Artistic space

Indigenous Governance graduate Jarrett Martineau is a leading influencer within the Canadian media scene, having produced several high-profile projects in the last 15 years. His is a story of remarkable success for someone who has barely brushed his forties.