What’s up Kinners? My name is Aayush and I am a fourth-year student in the Interdisciplinary stream. I decided to pursue Kinesiology because, like many, I am heavily involved in sport and played competitive tennis for 7 years, which led to an injury that I was hoping my studies would help me to fix! In doing so, I have fallen in love with the program – especially the physiology side – with my favourite classes being Kin 190/191 (that’s 110/131 for the new students), 275, 375 and 473. After I graduate this year, I hope to continue my education by completing a masters abroad or by applying to medical school somewhere in Canada.
Outside of school, I volunteer with the AMS Speakeasy, an amazing resource on campus that offers peer to peer support for a wide range of student issues; and at the Vancouver Crisis Centre, where I teach classes on mental wellbeing and suicide prevention. I am very passionate about mental health and look to help within the field wherever possible. I still love tennis and split my time between the court and the gym each week. I also work at a lab on campus where we are investigating addiction and decision-making behaviours, which is an area I hope to continue working on in the future!
My favourite part of the undergrad experience by far has been the camaraderie that Kinesiology students share, no matter what stream or year. I love how I can walk into practically any active Kin class and pick out at least a handful of students with whom I am close, because Kin pride is so strong and is cultivated right at the start of Imagine Day. This is part of what led me to the Senior Orientation Leader (SrOl) position, as I was able to make a direct and salient difference in the incoming class’ introduction to Kinesiology and help shape the attitudes that they’ll carry over the next four years.
If you are looking for a leadership role within Kinesiology that is both rewarding and enjoyable, I would encourage you to apply as a SrOl! Through this position, I was able to take an active role within the planning of Imagine Day, helped to train the orientation leader team and shaped the experiences of incoming students to Kin. Becoming a SrOl has helped me to grow as a leader, work on my ability to collaborate with others, and gain confidence with public speaking.
Being a SrOl isn’t all about gaining experience — I have also made some amazing connections with great people on campus, which was my favourite part of this role. I went on a fun weekend retreat to meet the other faculties’ leaders, have become friends with my fellow Kinesiology seniors, and have worked closely with many phenomenal staff, all of whom made this a very worthwhile experience and one that I would urge you to pursue!