发现适应性世界
图片由 轮椅篮球贝尔维尔.
Pediatric occupational therapist and adaptive sports advocate
Katherine Kerr is a 2013 alum of the Utica College M.S. 职业治疗项目. 2015年初, she organized a wheelchair basketball league in her hometown of Belleville, 安大略, 加拿大. 据凯瑟琳说, the idea was inspired by her experience working with Utica’s Sitrin STARS adaptive sports program, part of her fieldwork while attending UC.
Katherine talked to us about why she chose Utica College’s graduate program in OT—and why adaptive sports matter:
发现适应性世界
我还在读本科, studying politics at Queen’s College in 安大略, when I had one of those “what am I doing with my life?“时刻. I changed my major to health studies and was drawn to the world of adaptive sports. I liked how it’s all about inclusion. No matter your physical or cognitive state, you can participate. Everybody deserves to play whatever sport they want to play.
谢谢,妈妈!
I was researching graduate programs when my mom found the Sitrin STARS website and showed me. 看起来很神奇. I learned it was one of the fieldwork opportunities at Utica College, 所以我对加州大学做了更多的研究. I liked the small class size and that it was close to my hometown. Most of all, I was excited about this adaptive sports opportunity with Sitrin.
最伟大的灵魂
After I decided to attend UC, I got involved with the STARS almost immediately. I got to help with an adaptive shooting program and adaptive golf; I got involved in a curling tournament and traveled to Cape Cod with the Paralympic curling team; and I participated in an adaptive sports clinic in Lake Placid at the Olympic training center. I saw how sports changed the lives of the athletes. Some of them had been through tragic experiences—things I couldn’t imagine. 他们有最伟大的精神. It was amazing to be a part of that. I came back to 加拿大 and said, “I want to bring a program like this to my hometown.”
正确的道路
I started a wheelchair basketball program at my local YMCA in February of this year, 它已经起飞了. 直到现在, there weren’t a lot of adaptive sports opportunities in the area, and people are excited about this idea. We’ve had people donate wheelchairs and other equipment, and various organizations have offered support. The whole community has gotten involved. We are now a weekly program, and the athletes love it. It has reaffirmed that this is the right career path for me.
图片由 轮椅篮球贝尔维尔.
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