Read about great UBC KIN students before you and where they are today as alumni
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.
Lai, Henry
Welcome graduating student, Henry P. H. Lai, MSc 2020 to the Kin Alumni community. Henry is a UBC Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award winner who worked under the supervision of Dr. Darren Warburton in the Cardiovascular Physiology and Rehabilitation lab. During his time as a graduate student, Henry worked on a UBC TLEF project to […]
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!”
Kinghorn, Marilyn Peterson
Graduating year: 1961
Degree: BPE
At UBC she was considered one of the city’s top basketball players as she was selected to the team representing BC at the 1959 national championships. In 1960 she was a key member of UBC’s first Western Canadian women’s asketball champions, a title she and her teammates would win again in 1961.
Averill, Michael
BHK 2006, Musician
Michael Averill is recognized as a KIN Community Champion who is utilizing his creativity to uplift us and bring us together in community, in the face of the social isolation of COVID. He demonstrates leadership and service by offering free, live online performances and jam sessions for everyone to participate in and express their feelings through music!
Parelkar, Soham
Graduating year: 2018
Degree: BKin
During his undergraduate studies, rather than sticking to physical health-focused electives, Soham chose diverse topics such as biomedical ethics, history, and global nutrition. Soham believes that the option to pick wide-ranging courses in the kinesiology program enhanced his experience in two primary ways.