Pictured: Bahiyyih Peters on a hike in Kananaskis Country, outside of Calgary, Alberta, this past summer.

For Bahiyyih Peters, August in the middle of a pandemic was a strange time to begin a new role at the University of British Columbia (UBC); though she has only known remote work during her time at the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (SBQMI), she feels fortunate to have found herself among supportive colleagues and eager students.

Peters is the new CREATE Program Coordinator; working with Lukas Chrostowski, she is responsible for supporting 15 CREATE students divided between UBC and the University of Victoria, as well as assisting with K-12 outreach in quantum computing and the day-to-day administrative management of the program. She works with David Weekes and Haris Amiri, among others.

“The thing I have loved about working with this group is how much I learn,” Peters said. “Every day, whether from students or in committee meetings, so much about quantum computing is new to me and I am really enjoying connecting with such interesting people and learning from them.”

Though her education is primarily in sociology (she’s a graduate of Simon Fraser University), she found her enthusiasm for working in post-secondary environments during her time at Vancouver Community College (VCC), where she studied music. She began working in administrative roles at VCC after completing her certificate program. She worked in a number of different departments as a program assistant, program coordinator, and assistant to a VP. An accomplished musician, Bahiyyih is a singer/songwriter and guitarist who has performed with a number of bands and as a soloist over the years; some of her music is available to stream on SoundCloud.

Prior to joining SBQMI, Peters was also a certified Zumba instructor; once the fitness landscape shifted following the shutdowns in March and April, she set that part of her life aside for the time being and now gets most of her exercise outdoors through walking and hiking, which she can enjoy with her two kids, her husband and her new dog, Izzy

Despite the physical distance keeping us apart, Bahiyyih is eager to get to know her SBQMI colleagues; she is very open to the idea of Zoom coffee breaks or other opportunities to connect; send her an email at bahiyyih.peters@ubc.ca.

Related: CREATE program to crystalize eminence in quantum computing training in BC