Hello, I'm Rickaya

RICKAYA SYKES > is a senior pursuing a BFA in Theatre with a concentration in performance and a minor in media studies. Recent credits include Phillis Wheatly in What They Did For Us (Heritage Theatre Ensemble Company), Nurse #2 in Machinal (VCU), and Emma in Jouska (VCU SALT). Rickaya is Co-Director of Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly (VCU SALT), worked as an extra on the TV shows Walking Dead and Swagger, and has been in several short films. Rickaya says, "I hope to inspire the younger generation and ensure they know that you do not have to fit the 'norm:' be a certain size, color, or ethnicity in order to succeed. My dad always tells me 'Rickaya you have greatness within you' and that is something I want others to know about themselves. My mother is my role model and I live by her quote What is for You, is for You, and No one can take it away from you. I would not be where I am right now, doing what I love, without loving parents and a supportive family." Rickaya is a strong believer in God. She says, "Without him, nothing that I have done would be possible."