Lethbridge Polytechnic has named four outstanding alumni as this year’s Honouring Excellence award winners.
Recipients include Distinguished Alumni Darryl Jarina (Renewable Resource Management 1999), Career Virtuoso David Muryn (Business Administration – Accounting 1999), Community Leader Tristin Mercer (Business Administration – Management 2011) and Rising Star Ivan Djomengi (Computer Information Technology 2019).
“It’s an honour to celebrate the accomplishments of our Lethbridge Polytechnic alumni who continue to inspire and create meaningful change through their leadership, innovation and community impact,” says Kathy Veres Sassa, Alumni Advisory Council chair. “Each year, our Honouring Excellence award recipients highlight the passion and dedication that define our alumni. Their achievements showcase the impact Lethbridge Polytechnic graduates are making both locally and around the world.”
For the past 34 years, Lethbridge Polytechnic has recognized more than 100 remarkable alumni for their incredible contributions to their communities and professions.
Community members, Lethbridge Polytechnic employees, students and alumni will celebrate Jarina, Muyrn, Mercer and Djomengi at 6 p.m., April 9, in the Garden Court Dining Room on campus. Event tickets are available for purchase at give.lethpolytech.ca/event/honouring-excellence/e766964
The event is made possible by affinity program partner TD Insurance, which has supported Lethbridge Polytechnic alumni for more than 15 years.
Darryl Jarina grew up in the outdoors. Raised in Sparwood B.C, he spent his days hunting, fishing and simply exploring what the Elk Valley had to offer. He graduated from Lethbridge Polytechnic in 1999 with a diploma in Renewable Resource Management before moving over to the University of Calgary to obtain his bachelor of science degree with a major in zoology. He began his career with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development as a wildlife biologist in 2006 before establishing Bear Tracks Environmental later that year.
Growing up in a small town where both the environment and industry shaped daily life, Jarina saw how vital industry was to local residents – and how essential it was to protect the environment for future generations. He saw firsthand how the two can work hand in hand when approached responsibly. That perspective has guided the success and growth of Bear Tracks, where he serves as founder, president and senior wildlife biologist. His ability to understand the needs of clients while considering the broader environmental impact has helped grow the small consulting firm to 25 full-time employees.
Jarina tries to lead his team by example, pairing a light-hearted attitude with a sense of humour that shapes how he works with people. He takes his role as president seriously but understands that a work environment does not have to be stuffy or demanding. The free-flowing environment he fosters allows his team to work efficiently while still providing a top product to his clients. His co-workers are not simply a commodity or a means to an end; they are family and an essential cog in the wheel of the company’s success. The effort and care they put into their daily tasks directly translate into the success of the company, and Jarina subscribes to this vision.
Throughout the years, Jarina has fostered many meaningful and long-lasting relationships with staff, clients and regulators across a wide variety of industries in four provinces. These relationships are most meaningful to him, as they are the backbone of success. Jarina’s ability to communicate in an effective, meaningful way – and delivered with a laid-back, easy-going attitude – has led to his success as a communicator and relationship builder. And if you were to ask him outright, he would say his greatest accomplishment along this journey is not the revenue his company generates or the number of staff he employs, but the relationships he has built while providing responsible consulting services to the industries he serves.
David Muryn, CPA, CA, is a proud graduate of Lethbridge Polytechnic and a leader whose career reflects dedication, discipline and a deep commitment to community.
Raised in Medicine Hat, Muryn came to Lethbridge in 1997 to pursue baseball and academics at the Prairie Baseball Academy and polytechnic. While enrolled in General Studies, he discovered an interest in accounting – an insight that would shape the course of his professional life. He graduated in 1999 with a Business Administration – Accounting diploma, laying the foundation for a career defined by steady growth and leadership.
Muryn continued his academic and athletic journey at Wayne State College in Nebraska, where he played collegiate baseball and helped lead the team to its highest national ranking and first regional appearance. A Presidential Scholar Athlete, he started every game during his two years there and graduated in 2001 with a bachelor of science in business administration.
In November 2001, Muryn began his professional career with MNP in Lethbridge. He articled with the firm, wrote the Chartered Accountant (CA) Final Examination in 2003, and earned his CA designation in 2004. Committed to continuous growth, he pursued extensive post‑designation education to further develop his business advisory and leadership skills. He became a partner with MNP in 2009 and was appointed regional managing partner in 2020 – a role in which he continues to guide clients and teams across southern Alberta.
Athletics and coaching have remained a constant throughout Muryn’s career. During his college years, he spent his summers in Lethbridge working at Spitz Stadium and Lloyd Nolan Yard, while also playing for the Lethbridge Bulls, deepening his connection to the community and the sport. He later co‑founded CrossFit Lethbridge in 2007 and pursued competitive athletics and coaching until selling the business in 2013. Muryn also served on the Prairie Baseball Academy Board of Directors from 2002 to 2010 and has spent the past several years coaching youth baseball, continuing to mentor and support young athletes.
Muryn shares his life with his partner, Jasmine, and their two sons, Ozzie and Apollo. His family is a constant source of motivation, along with his professional and community commitments.
His journey – from student‑athlete to trusted business advisor and regional leader – exemplifies the spirit of the Career Virtuoso Award, reflecting a career built on perseverance, leadership and lasting impact.
Tristin Mercer is a community builder, advocate and co-founder of a charitable organization whose work has redefined what support looks like for southern Alberta families facing childhood cancer. A proud graduate of Lethbridge Polytechnic who continued her studies at the University of Lethbridge, Mercer has built a reputation for leading with quiet integrity. She is known not just for her professional achievements, but for her innate ability to bring people together to solve complex problems with compassion and a clear sense of purpose.
In her 16 years with ATB Financial, Mercer has built a career defined by reliability and a genuine commitment to the people she serves. Known for her analytical strength and a thoughtful, common-sense approach, she has a knack for bringing clarity to complex situations. Her colleagues and clients value her for her loyalty and compassion, qualities that allow her to lead with a strong sense of responsibility and earn the trust of those she works with every day.
Alongside her husband, Mercer is the co-founder of Kinley’s Quest Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to ending pediatric cancer and empowering affected families through awareness, research funding and compassionate support at every stage of the journey. Her leadership has helped grow the foundation into a powerful force for change, uniting supporters, partners and advocates in pursuit of a future free from childhood cancer.
This work is deeply personal. After her daughter Kinley was diagnosed at just four months old with a malignant rhabdoid tumour, an exceptionally rare and aggressive cancer, Mercer faced the unimaginable realities of navigating treatment, frequent travel for care and profound loss. Mercer chose to honour Kinley’s memory by building the support system she realized so many families were missing.
Today, she is widely respected for her authenticity, resilience and ability to inspire collective action. Through advocacy, community engagement and public speaking, she is helping to shift conversations around pediatric cancer while championing stronger support for children and families.
Mercer’s leadership is perhaps most visible through the creation of the Golden Strides Walk: Steps to End Childhood Cancer, an inclusive annual event that unites families, businesses and community members in both awareness and fundraising. Under her guidance, initiatives connected to Kinley’s Quest have generated significant support while strengthening a culture of compassion and advocacy.
Yet Mercer’s greatest pride is found at home. She is a devoted mother of three and shares a strong partnership with her loving husband – the foundation of the resilience and perspective she brings to every aspect of her life. Whether in the workplace, the community or her advocacy efforts, she leads with the belief that lasting change is built through connection, courage and care for others.
Mercer embodies the spirit of distinguished alumni: purpose-driven, community-minded and committed to creating a better future. By transforming personal hardship into a catalyst for change while continuing to excel professionally, she demonstrates that leadership is not defined by a single role, but by the lives uplifted along the way.
Ivan Djomegni’s journey into technology began long before it became his profession. Born and raised in Yaoundé, Cameroon, he developed an early fascination with computers while spending time in his mother’s cyber café, where he experimented with software and helped customers troubleshoot technical issues. His curiosity and problem-solving mindset earned him a childhood nickname “Le Savant” – French for The Scientist – a title that would quietly foreshadow his future career.
When Djomegni moved to Canada to pursue his education, the transition marked both a personal and professional turning point. Adapting to a new country while continuing to refine his technical skills required resilience and focus. He says his time at Lethbridge Polytechnic provided him the structure and foundation to transform his early curiosity into a sustainable and impactful career in technology.
Djomegni began his professional journey as a programmer, building software and websites for small businesses, then supporting and designing enterprise systems before steadily advancing into leadership roles focused on cloud architecture, automation and digital transformation. Today, he serves as a cloud solutions architect and senior DevOps engineer, leading large-scale modernization initiatives across North America. Specializing in cloud architecture, DevOps, data transformation and AI solutions, he helps organizations translate business and technical requirements into secure, scalable platforms that support mission-critical operations.
Beyond his corporate work, Djomegni is an entrepreneur committed to expanding access to opportunity through technology. While still at the polytechnic, he founded NaviiTech, a venture focused on digital enablement and innovation. He later created BOmarket.ca (Black-owned Marketplace), a community-driven online platform designed to increase visibility and economic access for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Djomegni is also a dedicated mentor for several initiatives such as the Black Youth Mentorship and Leadership Program at the University of Calgary where he supports high school students and early-career professionals pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) pathways. He also often gives back to the polytechnic by delivering speeches to Computer Information Technology students at the request of his past instructors, encouraging them to see technology as a bridge between potential and possibility.
He believes innovation is most meaningful when it creates access and impact. Through leadership, mentorship and entrepreneurship, Djomegni remains committed to building systems that empower organizations and uplift communities.