Congratulations to Carmen Golnaraghi, an MA in Kinesiology student at UBC who has been awarded funding through the Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Enhancement Fund! The StEAR Enhancement Fund provides grants to help support community-led initiatives that advance equity and anti-racism goals. Carmen has been recognized for her proposed project, UBC TogetherActive: Supporting Connections Through Accessible Recreation. Keep reading to learn more about her vision and work.
Could you describe your proposed project UBC TogetherActive in more detail?
UBC TogetherActive is a pilot program designed to advance inclusive physical activity for students with visual impairments through structured, relational support. In this program, I work alongside my project supervisors, Dr. Erica Bennett and Dr. Andrea Bundon, who guide the program’s design, training, and evaluation. UBC TogetherActive pairs students with trained student volunteers as workout partners for weekly 45-minute sessions in campus recreation spaces. Each session involves co-navigation of the environment and engagement in activities selected by the student, including fitness classes, gym training, and sport leagues.
The program is grounded in relational pedagogy and principles of autonomy and empowerment, translating theoretical frameworks of inclusive practice into applied, actionable interventions. TogetherActive emphasizes shared participation rather than instruction, cultivating skill development, confidence, and self-efficacy while simultaneously fostering supportive peer networks. The program design is informed by collaboration with students, campus partners, and community organizations, creating a replicable model for research-informed, student-led inclusion initiatives in post-secondary recreation.
How will UBC TogetherActive impact the community?
Through the UBC TogetherActive program, students with visual impairments receive structured support that addresses both environmental and psychosocial barriers to participation. Many students commonly express apprehension or fear about engaging in recreational and fitness spaces due to unfamiliarity, perceived social barriers, or uncertainty about navigating physical environments.
By pairing students with trained volunteers, the program operationalizes relational and mentorship-based strategies to reduce anxiety, enhance confidence, and foster sustained engagement in movement. Beyond participant benefits, UBC TogetherActive provides student volunteers with experiential learning in adaptive practices and relational leadership, as well as training sessions with BC Blind Sports and inclusive program delivery. Collectively, these interactions contribute to a campus culture where inclusion is actively enacted through collaboration, presence, and evidence-informed practice.
What motivated you to pursue this project?
My trajectory toward developing UBC TogetherActive was shaped by my work as an academic mentor with the Centre for Accessibility, supporting students with visual impairments in navigating both campus and recreation environments. These experiences highlighted how environmental unfamiliarity and anticipatory social or logistical barriers can inhibit engagement, and how relational, trust-based support can mitigate these challenges.
Mentorship, recreation, and research experiences revealed that movement is not solely a physical act; it functions as a mechanism for cultivating self-efficacy, agency, and adaptive problem-solving. TogetherActive emerged from integrating these insights with academic frameworks on empowerment, autonomy, and relational pedagogy. The program translates these constructs into structured, applied practice, demonstrating how mentorship and guided participation can facilitate meaningful, confidence-building experiences in movement spaces.
What are some notable highlights from your time as a UBC KIN Undergraduate student?
My time in UBC Kinesiology has been profoundly formative and inspiring. I had the privilege of learning from guest lecturers, including Paralympians with visual impairments, their guides, and leading advocates in adaptive sport, whose insights into resilience, skill, and inclusion reshaped my understanding of possibility in physical activity. Hands-on laboratory experiences, such as KIN 235 and KIN 120, provided intensive, practical training in designing and delivering inclusive physical activity sessions, translating theory into action.
Courses specifically focused on disability, including KIN 345, KIN 344, and KIN 442, allowed me to design structured, accessible programs and build the skills to support participants with diverse abilities. Additionally, participating in the KIN Health Mentors program during my undergrad under Dr. Kennedy offered a transformative mentorship experience, allowing me to guide and independently support patients with disabilities in developing confidence, autonomy, and engagement in movement.
Every element of my KIN education, from rigorous coursework to mentorship, practica, and direct engagement with athletes and community experts, equipped me with the expertise, perspective, and inspiration to conceptualize and implement UBC TogetherActive. KIN has been an extraordinary foundation, blending research, practice, and advocacy into a truly transformative education.
Do you have any final thoughts?
This project is built with students, not just for them. Students with visual impairments, athletes with disabilities, their guides, and community partners have shaped the program from the very beginning. I am deeply grateful to the StEAR Enhancement Fund for believing in student ideas and helping turn vision into action. My hope is that this work continues to inspire care, advocacy, creativity, and collaboration across campus for students with visual impairment.
Thank you to Carmen for sharing her story with us.
