Miselta Ihekwoaba is a fifth-year Kinesiology student in the Interdisciplinary Stream. She joined the School of Kinesiology “because of how revered it was. It has allowed me to focus on the humanities aspects of sport and exercise, which exists in addition to extensive scientific education.” Miselta hopes to engage in research for organizations that will continue to address the many inequalities in sport, especially in a Canadian context. My positionality has led me to focus on the ways in which racism and settler-colonialism in sport intersect to affect newcomers’ experiences.”
One of Miselta’s favourite classes has been KIN 368 – Indigenous Sport & Physical Culture in Settler Canada. “Moss Norman did a great job of facilitating constant reflection of our past, present, and future actions in paying homage to the nurturers of the land we settled on.” Miselta is currently committed to strength training and yoga.
Miselta serves as a member of the KUS BIPOC Committee. She is a past Vice-President Governance and Administration of UBC Sororities, where she “spearheaded initiatives and policy changes to disrupt some of the harmful practices that continued to exist in Greek Life.” Miselta reflects, “I struggled very much to form a community in KIN before I formed communities elsewhere, and found that several individuals in these spaces happened to also be in KIN. Later on in my degree, I bonded with Black students and students of colour through our experiences in the School. While we were brought together over shared trauma, I’m grateful for the safe spaces we’ve created for ourselves. The work we’re doing will hopefully improve the experiences of underrepresented groups in this School.”
In addition to continuing her advocacy work, Miselta states, “I hope to further advance my career as a curve model as another one of my passions is to normalize big black bodies in spaces of health, wellness, and luxury.” She also wishes to help small businesses, organizations, and creatives develop a brand through graphic design. As a lover of languages, I hope to become more established in the revitalization of the world’s endangered languages – and to provide education on this, amongst my many other passions, in multilingual spaces.”