but it is often overlooked or ignored because it can be uncomfortable to discuss.
I’ m comfortable speaking about sex, so it seemed natural that I would help to lead these discussions. We released a panel discussion on sex after a spinal cord injury as well as an eLearning module about sexuality and adapting sex toys for people with disabilities. It was all completed as a form of online sex education for people with disabilities.
These projects have garnered worldwide recognition. I was interviewed as a part of a piece on Broadly( a Vice Channel) titled“ How People with Disabilities Have Sex,” a quote from that article landed on the podcast“ Stuff Mom Never Told You”( out of the United States), and I have received notes asking for help and resources from people far and wide, including a professor in Denmark and a website out of Mumbai. I’ ve also delivered conference presentations on the subject— including speaking at the Toronto Collaborative Neuroscience Symposium.
I took a course at the U of R about gender and sexual identity in schools from Dr. James McNinch and that course really prepared me for this project. I thought of it often as I prepared.
Did any U of R professors make an impact on you and your professional journey?
I’ m not sure that I could name all of the professors that had an impact on me and my professional journey. The lessons( either of subject matter or life) that I learned from them are with me every day. From Douglas Farenick( now Dean of Science, congrats Doug!) and Remus Floricel in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, to Susan Johnston and Diana Lundine in the English Department, to Rick Seaman and James McNinch in Education and many, many more.
What was your experience like at the U of R? What was a highlight for you here?
I absolutely loved my education at the U of R. I’ m not sure I can pinpoint a specific highlight. I absolutely loved my internship experience at Winston Knoll Collegiate with my co-op teacher Maria Canham and I reflect on that often. I also loved meeting Jerrod— we met in Modern Algebra. There were only six of us in the class and I knew four of the other students before we even started. I think that’ s one of the things I really appreciated about the U of R: It is big enough that you can still get the classes and education you are looking for and yet it’ s still small enough that you have a lot of contact with your peers and your professors.
How did your injury impact your studies, your athletic dreams, and any other dreams? How did your life change?
My spinal cord injury impacted pretty much everything in my life. It’ s really hard to explain. Often when I talk about my experience with my injury, people assume a sort-of“ poor you” mentality and that’ s something I would like to debunk a little. Yes, the first few years after my injury were really tough. I had to learn how to do everything again— from getting dressed and moving around, to even figuring out how I fit in socially. But my life isn’ t worse now than it was beforehand. In fact, it’ s probably much richer than it was beforehand. I’ ve had really amazing opportunities offered to me, and I’ ve been in situations where I could jump at those opportunities and really explore them.
The most immediate change in my future goals related to my studies. I had an image— as many do— of finishing my B. Ed. in 4 years and getting a job as a teacher. After my SCI, I took a semester off to complete my physical rehabilitation, and returned as a part-time student before getting back to school full time. This meant that I was not going to finish in four year’ s time, so I decided to tack on a little extra time and finished my B. Sc. concurrently with my B. Ed. I’ m really glad that I chose that direction for many reasons: I was able to grow in my profession, gaining a much better understanding of Mathematics as well as meet a lot of amazing individuals I would not have had the chance to meet without the additional classes, including the man that is now my husband!
I had never been into sports much at all before my injury, and certainly not organized sport. After my injury, however, I found that sport was a really great way for me to connect with other people who had sustained spinal injuries, and that by spending time with other people who had spinal cord injuries I could learn a ton about how to adapt. So I kept going, and I’ ve been able to try a wide variety of sports and many different levels. I had always loved water sports, so I really connected with paddling( canoe and kayak) and was given the incredible opportunity to represent Canada at 4 ICF World Championships— and won 10 International Medals, including the first-ever Women’ s ParaCanoe V1 World Championship in 2010. I have now retired from paddling, at least for the time being, so that I can focus on other things, but I’ m sure that I’ ll be back someday.
How did you overcome the obstacles to finishing your degree and from where did you receive support?
I am a tremendously fortunate person, and my SCI really highlighted that for me. I have a wonderful family and amazing friends; I really can’ t thank them enough for everything that they did for me immediately after my injury. That being said, I think they may have done even more for me before my injury— they helped to shape me into the person I needed to be to face all of the challenges life would throw at me, my injury included. During my recovery I focused on each day individually and, with the knowledge that I could not turn back time to“ undo” what had happened, I rebuilt myself by choosing to focus on where I was going rather than where I had been. I could not have done that without the support of my family and friends,
Continued on next page
Education News | Page 17