September
4th, 1989 I was born in Brantford, Ontario. This is the home of where
my soccer career began. I started out playing house league, on a coed team (because
there weren’t enough people to have segregated leagues) in a small gym. After a
few years of playing house league and I was selected to play for the Brantford
Rockets select competitive team.
In
1999, on my 10th birthday I moved to Oakville. My teammates and
coaches were excited for the opportunities to come, as Oakville was known for
its soccer all over Ontario. My soccer career had its ups and downs during my
time in Oakville, but eventually became very competitive while I was in high
school. At my pinnacle I was playing for the Toronto Lady Lynx. This was the beginning
of the path to the rest of my life. I was travelling a lot for soccer, and
began coaching a boys’ rep team. The Lynx was very involved in our academic
success as well athletic success. An interest in Physical Education was sparked
by this experience. My soccer career may have ended, but a new career was just
starting.
In
2007 I graduated from high school and transitioned to Brock University for a
Bachelors Degree in Physical Education. During my time at Brock I was very
involved in the school. In 2010 I was given the opportunity to travel to El
Salvador to teach Physical Education. This experience changed my life and
created a lot more opportunities. From this I gained confidence in myself and
in my teaching, but it also inspired me to do a whole lot more with teaching
and travelling.
Upon
returning from El Salvador my life took off in ways I never thought I would end
up. I was involved in a documentary based on teaching in El Salvador, I taught
a couple of lectures to a first year physical education class on sport for
development and international teaching and I trained the second group of El
Salvador candidates for their teaching trip. An independent study was completed
on my time in El Salvador and I became more involved with Special Needs
students in a Physical Education setting. I began working for the YMCA as an activities
coordinator for Youth Action. This was an afterschool program for youth at
risk, using sport as a tool to instill life skills. This is where my passion
for sport for development was really established. I got more involved in Right
to Play, which included running a sport for development workshop during the
Ultimate Play Day in Toronto.
My
sport for development passion continued to grow as I worked in partnership to
develop the Niagara Street Soccer league. Niagara Street Soccer is a branch of
Street Soccer Canada. This is a soccer league for the homeless, mentally ill,
addicted and youth at risk population. This experience involved the
organization and development of the club, outreach to the population and
coaching practices. Street Soccer Canada travels to the Homeless World Cup each
year and it is my dream to send a player from the Niagara team.
These experiences are what landed me a spot in Brock University’s
Teacher’s College and teacher’s college has continued with providing me
extraordinary opportunities.
In
April 2012, I will once again be travelling with Brock University, this time to
Capetown, South Africa for my third teaching practicum. I have also been
granted the opportunity to teach in London, England in September.
My
life can be defined by a series of influences, connectedness and intertwined
experiences. One experience derived from the other, opened the door for the
next and created the opportunity.
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