Telling people I am an upper classman is still such a strange feeling. To be cliche, I really do feel like it was just yesterday that I was running around as a freshman, not knowing what the next few years would have in store for me.
Now it has come to the time in college when gen-ed requirements are done and we are taking classes that truly have application into our futures careers. Classes are not just to help us gain knowledge, but to train us for our jobs. That is crazy! Am I really old enough for that? Although I do feel like I just started, I feel so confident in my decision to major in Therapeutic Recreation. When I sit in my TR classes, my heart actually starts beating faster.
This semester, I am taking a class on Women and Sports through an international perspective. Although it is not directly TR, it is recreation and sports management and applies to the areas of TR I would love to pursue. My professor, Dr. Ashleigh Huffman, has a true passion for integrating women of various cultures through sports to bring about positive change in different countries and areas. Dr. Huffman is the assistant director of The Center for Sport, Peace, and Society, founded by Dr. Sarah Hillyer.
This is the mission of the center: "The center uses sport, physical activity, and recreation to promote cultural understanding, to enhance student learning, to improve community welfare, and to foster social change. The result of the center is a civically engaged university and a more united and inclusive community. "
Through the center is the nonprofit organization Sport 4 Peace which works both internationally with 11 different countries and locally with immigrants and refugees. Their philosophy is to expose, equip, empower, and entrust students and community members to make a difference in the lives of others through sports. I could not think of a more incredible way to reach people of different cultures, languages, and backgrounds.
My most recent area of interest is working with adaptive sports and special olympics. My goal for the next three years is to work the 2016 Olympics and Paralypmics in Rio. Not only would this be the ultimate way to experience people of all cultures and backgrounds coming together for sport, but also a way to see how people can overcome disabilities through the Paralympics to reach their dreams. Recently, I have watched many videos of various Paralmypic sports, my favorite sport so far is Paralympic Sled Hockey. Each video and each individual inspires me as they are breaking stereotypes set by the word "disability." Not only are they participating, but they are excelling and competitively engaged in sport.
The International Paralympic Committee values courage, determination, inspiration, and equality in order to develop a more equitable society with equal opportunities for all individuals.
Isn't that what should bring people together? Equal opportunity to participate in activities (not just sports), to have fun, to accomplish goals, to grow as an individual along side others, and to build community should be the focus of not just the IPC, but for sports and recreation overall.
So that's where my heart is now. Seeing how sport and recreation can truly provide opportunities for people to grow, learn, and develop in physical, social, spiritual, and mental wellness.
Rio 2016, here I come.
