Alumni Stories

See what these Kin alumni are up to and what they’re doing with their Kinesiology degrees.

Shields, Ken

Graduating year: 1969
Degree: BPE
Bachelor of Physical Education, 1969 One of the best known names in Canadian basketball is 1969 UBC Physical Education (Kinesiology) graduate Ken Shields. Ken, along with his wife Kathy, both played Varsity Thunderbird basketball during the late 1960s with Ken quickly moving on to the coaching ranks co-coaching the UBC women’s Varsity basketball team in1969/70.


Sinclair, Dana

Graduating year: 1985
Degree: BPE
Dr. Dana A. Sinclair (BPE ’85) is a performance psychologist at Human Performance International (HPI), where she consults with clients from the medical, corporate and entertainment worlds as well as professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS, IndyCar, PGA, Tennis Canada and the Olympics.


Sinclair, Gary

Graduating year: 1957
Degree: BPE
During my BPE Studies I was inspired by Dr Max Howell, a former Australian rugby international who had just received his PhD from the U of California. He brought an enthusiasm for the academic study of PE and also accepted the responsibility for the development of the rugby program.


Smith, Arnie

Graduating year:1962
Degree: BPE
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Arnold Smith. Arnie graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor in Physical Education and a Master of Education in 1982. While at UBC Arnie played Thunderbird football under coach Frank Gnup.


Smith, Casey (1958-1988)

Graduating year: 1998
Degree: BHK
The late Casey Smith, a 1988 Kinesiology graduate, happens to be one of only three UBC head coaches to guide the ‘Birds to Canada’s university football championship, the Vanier Cup.


Smith, Mark

Graduating year: 2020
Degree: HPCTL
Upon graduating from the HPCTL program, Mark led the Canadian Women’s National Softball Team to a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and has since retired as an international coach. “I felt this was the right time for me to move on and try something different."


Sobral, Manny

Graduating year: 1993
Degree: BPE
By age 20, as an amateur boxer, he had won five gold medals representing Canada at international competitions. He was three times Canadian Amateur Champion and had represented Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, another of UBC’s unheralded Olympians. His 126 amateur bouts included 40 knockouts and only nine losses.


Stadnyk, David

Graduating year: 1986
Degree: BPE
Stadnyk played tennis for UBC when tennis was a high-profile sport on campus. Following graduation Stadnyk embarked upon a career in the market and soon established Stadnyk and Partners Venture Capital investing in both pharmaceutical and energy companies from which has flourished his impressive entrepreneurial career.


Stewardson, Stan (1938-2017)

Graduating year: 1962
Degree: BPE
Engaging and knowledgeable, this ex-Thunderbird (his wife played Thunderbird basketball in the 1950s) is also well-known locally as a historian and memorabilia collector specializing in sports and the city of New Westminster itself – which could easily consider Stan one of its own “treasures.”


Swain, Derek

Graduating year: 1977
Degree: MPE
While a student on campus Derek developed his loyalty to UBC and to Athletics by serving as a co-manager of Thunderbird basketball teams which included the 1969/70 and the 1971/72 teams both inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame. Active on campus, Derek was elected AMS Vice-President and student Senator.