jessica liu
Mahlalela, Jama
Graduating year: 2004
Degree: BHK
Jama Mahlalela, a BHK ‘04 alumnus of the UBC School of Kinesiology, was a Varsity basketball star, a community leader, and is now the head coach of the Raptors 905 G League in the NBA. He was a key contributor in the Raptor’s 2019 win against the Golden State Warriors making the Raptors the first team outside of the US to win the NBA Championship.
McCabe, Martha
Graduating year: 2012
Degree: BKIN
Martha is a 2-time Olympic swimmer in the 200m breaststroke, a world championship, Pan Am Games medallist, and the president and founder of Head to Head Mentorship Program.
Watson, Laura
Graduating year: 2006, 2018
Degree: BHK, MHPCTL
Laura Watson is a High Performance Coaching Advisor with Own the Podium where she is responsible for implementing the Coaching Enhancement Program. This program aims to support Canada’s coaches in the pursuit of world class coaching excellence in Olympic and Paralympic sport.
Kopecky, Igor
Graduating year: 2019
Degree: MHPCTL
Igor Kopecky has been a coach and athlete for the past 35 years, and is currently the technical director for BC Diving and the South Surrey White Rock Diving Club. Igor has coached at the World Cup, World Series, South American Championships, Commonwealth Games, World Junior Championships and the Pan Am Games.
Bahrami, Ben
Graduating year: 2013
Degree: MKin
Ben Bahrami, a Strength and Conditioning Coach for McMaster University. He is grateful that the UBC Masters of Kinesiology allowed him to focus on his passion and believes that although his knowledge of human physiology and biomechanics improved significantly, the most valuable thing he learned was how to establish a culture as a coach.
Engelson, Monte (1939-2021)
Graduating year: 1962
Degree: BPE
Monte Engelson graduated with a Bachelors of Physical Education in 1962, and soon become a physical education teacher at Mount Elizabeth Secondary School. This was just to be the start of his long journey in education. Having discovered his passion for teaching, Monte returned to UBC to obtain a degree in the Faculty of Education.
Oliveira, Justin
Graduating year: 2018
Degree: MHPCTL
Justin Oliveira is currently the High Performance Director (HPD) at Water Polo Canada. Throughout his career, Justin worked with the Women’s and Men’s Senior Water Polo Programs and attended many World Championships, World League Finals, Olympic Qualification Tournaments and three Pan American Games.
Birgbrager, Alyssa
Graduating year: 2013
Degree: BKin
Alyssa currently works as an Athletic Therapist at Bishops University in Quebec. She is always excited to go to work; every day presents new challenges, fresh opportunities, and she is kept on her toes. As a certified Athletic Therapist, Alyssa provides preventative prophylactic care and emergency response in the field setting and injury assessment and rehabilitation in the clinic setting.
MacLean, Heather
Graduating year: 2015
Degree: BKin
We caught up with Heather who told us, “Growing up, sports played a large role in my home as my parents enrolled me into everything from dancing, gymnastics, soccer, hockey to swimming.” But at the age of 8, Heather started swimming competitively for the Etobicoke Swim club, and as she says “the rest is history!”
Arielle Sadaka
Arielle Sadaka will graduate with a Bachelors of Kinesiology in the Interdisciplinary Stream on June 17, 2020. As a Varsity athlete and captain of the UBC Track and Field team, Arielle was a highly active member of the Kinesiology student body. Hailing from Montreal, Arielle was a transfer student from Dawson College who first went […]