The Kinesiology program at UCalgary has offered me so many unique classroom opportunities to enhance my degree. As a person whose learning style is heavily influenced by hands-on activities, my first-year courses in Anatomy and Physiology and Sports Medicine featured labs that allowed me to apply my skills with cadavers and injury prevention methods, furthering the connections of my class material to the real world. By my third year, I was able to take all this knowledge to use for a practicum placement, working directly with the faculty as a Communications Assistant. It was truly fulfilling being able to create projects with researchers, professors, and graduate students to gain a better understanding of all the careers that could be ahead of me. 
 

Additionally, my core degree requirements really honed in on a holistic view of the body, from studying the functions of different organ systems to seeing the impact of physical activity on our health/lifestyle. These courses sparked a passion of mine to pursue a career in health care, opening my eyes to where I could make a meaningful difference in people's lives by helping them achieve better overall health and quality of life. The Bachelor of Science breadth allowed me to choose from a wide variety of classes to complete–similar to a “choose your own adventure”. As someone who is intent on applying to a doctoral program in Optometry, these options allowed me to have the freedom to complete graduate school requirements while still pursuing practical experiences in health and wellness.