Hi! My name is Nikol and I’m in my final year in Kinesiology, specializing in Health Sciences. Many of you may already know me as the KUS President! However, in my downtime I unwind by attending spin classes, spending time with friends and loved ones, and spending time on one of my guilty pleasures – binge-watching reality TV! My main interests in Kinesiology lie within the realm of physiology, but some of my fondest undergrad memories have been the many opportunities for personal growth on an academic and personal level, particularly through leadership positions.
This year, another opportunity for leadership appeared when I was honoured to win the UBC Chapman and Innovation Grant, which offers UBC students the opportunity to initiate meaningful community projects to tackle issues affecting underrepresented populations in their local communities. I decided to implement a program with the aim of breaking down the barriers for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their capabilities. In this program, I invited Special Olympics BC (SOBC) athletes to teach their sport to students in five Lower Mainland elementary schools.
I knew that I wanted to work with SOBC from the beginning. Earlier in the year I heard SOBC Community Development Coordinator, Chelsea Rogers, speak in class about leisure opportunities for individuals with disabilities. I thought their work was phenomenal! Sports have been an important part of my life for a long time, and even as a kid, inclusiveness was very important to me. I had witnessed many instances where children were being excluded from activities because they were different. In high school, standing up for these individuals resulted in a lot of arguments and long-lasting tensions between friends, because being popular was more important than treating everyone with respect. To me people are people – we are all different in our own ways, so to exclude someone because of something that makes them unique was absurd. Because of this, I thought it was especially important to implement the program in Elementary schools to instill values of inclusiveness and acceptance in our younger generations.
It was incredibly inspiring to see the warm response from the participating students and teachers, and the thoughtful leadership by the Special Olympics athletes. Though you could tell some athletes were a little nervous at the start, they gradually became more confident and did a great job of making students feel welcome, included and comfortable. A lot of students looked up to the athletes. I heard many of them talking to the athletes and asking questions about their sport experiences. One class even came prepared with papers and pens and asked for the autographs of all the athletes. It was an amazing thing to see!
Piloting this project has been a great way to wrap up my undergraduate experience. In the future, I plan to pursue an MSc in Kinesiology here at UBC. And then, depending on how I enjoy research, I will either pursue Medicine, a PhD, or maybe even an MBA – who knows! Check back with me 3 years from now to see where my journey takes me.