Robyn graduated with a Ph.D. in neuromechanics. Her thesis examined the leg muscle reflexes involved in the control of balance, and how they change with ageing and after suffering a stroke. She has gone on to do post-doctoral work at John Hopkins University. Robyn is an elite long-distance runner.
Greetings friends, faculty, staff, families, alumni, and the graduating class of 2020! My name is Robyn Mildren and I am addressing you on behalf of the cohort of grad students who are graduating alongside me today in UBC’s school of Kinesiology. I first want to speak directly to the master’s and doctoral students students graduating today, and give them their own special moment to take a breath and reflect on this accomplishment. I’m going try my best to put into words why I think what you have done is special.
In grad school you are given the very unique challenge to discover what you are truly passionate about and to develop your own path and methods to understanding it. Over my time at UBC, I was lucky to have had the opportunity to be introduced to so many different projects via your presentations at grad research day, chats over drinks at social events, or being roped into participating in human experiments.
For example, I’ve seen projects that have examined kinematics of breathing during exercise, bicycles for development in Uganda, the influence of sporting events on the environment, how spinal cord injury influences cardiac function, perceptions of individuals with disabilities in the gym, how to better diagnose asthma, and the influence of Parkinson’s on how the brain controls balance… just to name a few to give a glimpse of the breadth of incredible work done by grad students here in the school of Kin.
In general, I think what binds this multidisciplinary research together in the school of Kin is a fundamental belief in the importance of movement for physical and mental well being across all populations, genders, cultures, and ages, as well as a desire to promote these ideas in the community and to the next generation of students. You’ve all taken charge of advancing a small piece of this concept, whether it’s from a physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, or neuromechanical perspective.
I’m going to tell you a brief story of a conversation I had at UBC that still resonates with me. There was a lunch event hosted by UBC that I attended that was put on to celebrate phd students university wide who had advanced to candidacy. I was on the fence about going because I didn’t know anyone else going, but there was free food so of course I went. I ended up sitting beside a stranger. So making small talk I asked him what department he was in and what his research was on. He was in computer science and truthfully I didn’t understand much of what he was talking about it was pretty above my head. Then he asked me what department I was in and I said Kinesiology. And he paused, and then asked me “how do you think kinesiology can help our society right now”. And he went on to say, it scares me that I see rates of depression increasing, and health disorders climbing, and people are more and more stressed. What role do you think kinesiology can have?
And it’s hard to come up with one perfect, succinct answer for him. But when I look out over this graduating class and reflect on all the incredible work and people I have met over my time in grad school at UBC, I think collectively we have the answers. You have all developed your own creative path to better understand how humans move, how disorders effect movement, how to improve health and performance and break down barriers to physical activity, and explain to individuals how their body and mind works. The need for your role in the world has only been amplified this past year, where health has been at the forefront of our minds globally. I think it has not been been said loudly enough that taking time, knowledge, and resources to improve our health is one of our society’s best defences against becoming really sick.
I want to congratulate you on the impact you have made with your research, teaching, coaching, and outreach during your time at UBC, and I am confident that you will continue to take your role in society seriously and continue to be creative and compassionate leaders while you relentlessly pursue your passions. I could not be more excited to see how your future endeavours impact on the world.