Sam Vila, 4th year Kinesiology, Health Science Stream.
Sam’s passion for anatomy and physiology led him to volunteer for the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) to help other students practice the skills necessary for success. When COVID-19 hit, he worked quickly to innovate and bring PASS to an online system to ensure continued support and success amongst his peers.
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My name is Sam Vila, I’ve been a PASS leader for the past two years and have loved every step of the way. I have always had a passion for anatomy and physiology and after learning about PASS, I thought giving back to my cohort, hopefully instilling that same passion in a few students would be more than worthwhile. It has been such a great experience meeting, and working alongside, some incredible people in the Kinesiology department while honing my skills as a facilitator.
The COVID crisis has required that we all work remotely and so Shaena Randles and I have worked quickly to ensure that students could still receive coaching via a move to a new online system. Learning about, and applying, the many tools of the online platform was a new challenge but I enjoyed designing the session to take advantage of each tool. The chat function is my favorite because I think students are much more willing to contribute when they don’t have to physically raise their hand and speak; the barrier to participate is a lot lower.
Now that we’re over the initial change things are running pretty smoothly. I’ve learned that working with humor and understanding to help combat social isolation during this time and has worked well to get us all feeling more comfortable with the new platform. One thing I miss is having the student community physically in front of me, as the feedback I get is much more visceral and immediate. Stay healthy!