Pushhti Parekhh is a second-year Kinesiology student from Mumbai, India who is studying Neuromechanical and Physiological Science. She says she joined the KIN program to “learn about human kinetics and how it affects physical activity and life in the bigger picture. Pushhti was drawn, too, by “the opportunities for students to volunteer under a researcher and apply their theoretical learnings in a practical environment.” Pushhti aims to pursue a Physiotherapy degree at UBC and hopes to specialise in rehabilitation. Right now though, you can find her working as a Sushi chef at the new Brown’s Crafthouse on campus.
Some of Pushhti’s favourite classes have been KIN 110 – Human Anatomy, KIN 131 – Physiology with Dr. Anne Lasinsky and KIN 216 – Biomechanics with Paul Kennedy. “You could not have a better professor than Paul Kennedy to guide and support you through the course with his witty examples and funny class-starter stories.”
Pushhti held the role of Senior Orientation Leader (and back-up Orientation Leader) in 2020, and is now one of the Jump Start Orientation and Transition leaders, supporting first year Kinesiology students in Virtual Collegia. She is also a member of a Bollywood fusion Dance Club called UBC Junoon. “It’s a competitive dance team and we represented UBC and Canada at an International competition in Texas. UBC Junoon competed with 8 other USA teams and stood 3rd on the podium. It was a really big win for us as dancers and as students.” Pushhti also serves as one of the second-year representatives at UTSAV, the UBC Indian Students Association. “It is the largest club of the AMS and embraces the true spirit of South Asian Culture. It is a home-away-from-home for students and allows us to hold a variety of events every year to embrace South Asian festivals.”
When asked about the most important aspects she has learned from KIN so far, Pushhti states, “It doesn’t matter if we haven’t met face-to-face before, the most important thing is that we are all here for each other. Right now, our small messenger group chats make us all feel connected and no one is alone with their doubts and queries.”