Tahreem Fatima

Paralympian Kaley McLean found support to chase her dreams at U of T Scarborough

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 27 Aug 2021 14:27:25 +0000

Paralympian Kaley McLean found support to chase her dreams at U of T Scarborough

geoff.vendeville Fri, 08/27/2021 - 10:27

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U of T Scarborough alumna Kaley McLean, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two, competed in the Paralympic Games in three swimming events (Photo by Ken Jones)

Tahreem Fatima

Topic

Our Community

Accessibility

Paralympic Games

U of T Scarborough

If anyone knows about the positive role sport can play, it’s University of Toronto Scarborough alumna and former Paralympian Kaley McLean.

McLean, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two, competed for Canada in three swimming events at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. She says competing in the Paralympics was instrumental in shaping her identity.

"It allowed me to grow in confidence and believe in myself. It also helped me stay mentally strong and physically capable," she says.

McLean says her experience at the Paralympics was exhilarating – including the moment she heard the national anthem. While she didn't make it to the podium that summer, she later won gold and silver medals in the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CP-ISRA) World Championships held in Connecticut.

The Paralympic Games gives visibility to athletes with disabilities, challenges stereotypes and shifts the narrative towards a focus on people of different skills and abilities, McLean says.

What became the Paralympics originated in Great Britain in 1948 with the Stoke-Mandeville Games.Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a German-British neurologist and head of the Stoke-Mandeville Hospital's Spinal Cord Injury Unit, came up with the idea and organized the first competition for athletes using wheelchairs. The first official Paralympics took place in Rome in 1960.

Now in its 16th summer, the Games bring together thousands of world-class athletes from around the globe to compete in 22 summer sports, including two new events in Tokyo this year: badminton and taekwondo. Canada sent 128 athletes to the current games in Japan, which began on Tuesday. The Team Canada roster includes Matthew Cabraja, a math and physical science major at U of T and Varsity Blues swimmer, who is competing in the S11 category of para-swimmers in Tokyo.

McLean began her swim training in 1995 at the pool at Variety Village, a sports, fitness and wellness facility for people of all abilities, and supplemented her swimming with dry-land training at U of T Scarborough starting in 2002. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in 2007 from U of T Scarborough. In addition to downhill skiing, she still swims in her spare time and has a black belt in taekwondo.

Kaley McLean (centre) visited Tina Doyle (left) when she first enrolled at U of T Scarborough to get information about UTSC athletic facilities and services. Laurie Wright (right) was McLean's personal trainer. (Submitted photo)

She initially enrolled at U of T Scarborough because it was an accessible and wheelchair-friendly campus, and says that the campus provided her with the support she needed to succeed in her educational and athletic goals. When she first enrolled, McLean visited Tina Doyle, the director of AccessAbility Services, to get information about the university's athletic facilities.

Doyle acknowledges the importance of sports in students' physical and mental health, noting the department of athletics and recreation has many resources to help students of all abilities and athletic skills achieve their goals.

“It is important for our students with disabilities to see that having a disability does not have to limit them,” Doyle says.

She adds that the determination, hard work and athleticism shown by McLean in becoming a Paralympian is something all students can be motivated by – and helps dispel stereotypes about people with disabilities.

McLean says AccessAbility Services was very supportive during her time as an undergraduate. "They made it happen. I was put in touch with (personal trainer) Laurie Wright, and she guided me to use the equipment available in the weight room," she says.

Wright, a fitness program co-ordinator at U of T Scarborough, said McLean was able to do only her dry-land training on campus at the time, but now with the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), students can train in the pools. TPASC also houses the training centre for the men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams, who are currently 0-2 and 2-0 in Japan.

“Now the university co-owns a track and a pool that students with all abilities can use quite easily,” Wright says. “Both areas can be accessible for students using mobility devices as they are equipped with accessible change rooms, doors and lifts to assist. It’s an amazing change.”

Looking back at her time as an undergraduate student, McLean says that being involved in athletics and the support she received from AccessAbility Services helped her become the person she is today.

"AccessAbility Services is an excellent resource. They helped me with my studies and my athletic endeavours from the beginning," she says.

She encourages current students to find their passion, like she did, and make use of all available resources, especially those that can help you succeed.

"Find what you love to do. It could be sports, arts or writing – whatever it is, if you love it you will live it.”

Notisha Massaquoi, a renowned expert in health equity, joins U of T Scarborough

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 24 Aug 2021 18:04:13 +0000

Notisha Massaquoi, a renowned expert in health equity, joins U of T Scarborough

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 08/24/2021 - 14:04

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(Photo courtesy of Notisha Massaquoi)

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Notisha Massaquoi has spent more than 30 years advocating for greater access to primary health care in Black communities across Canada. Now, she is joining the University of Toronto Scarborough’s department of health and society as an assistant professor – and will teach a course on health equity and anti-Black racism.

Originally from Sierra Leone, Massaquoi has been a tireless advocate in protecting the rights of LGBTQ2+ refugees from Africa. She established the first counselling support programs for queer Africans and Africans living with HIV in Canada.

A recent recipient of a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at U of T, Massaquoi served for two decades as executive director of Women's Health in Women's Hands – the only community health centre in North America providing specialized primary health care for Black and racialized women. She also served as an adviser on the Ontario premier's advisory council on violence against women and co-chaired the Toronto Police Services Board’s Anti-Racism Advisory Panel, which was responsible for producing the first policy in the country that mandates a police service to collect race-based data for every interaction with the public.

Massaquoi recently spoke to U of T News about her research, teaching philosophy and what she’s looking forward to most about being at U of T Scarborough.

Can you tell us about your research?

My research looks at health equity issues. The goal is to find and eliminate the health disparities experienced by Black communities in Canada. So, I look at barriers that members of the Black community face when trying to access health services. My research shows the Black community's lack of trust in the health system due to the racism they experience is delaying when people get service. For example, if someone is delaying leaving home to go for health services because they don't trust that they’ll be treated well, or because they are trying to avoid repeated racist experiences, it impacts the health and well-being of Black communities.

What course will you be teaching at U of T Scarborough?

I developed a new special topics course called Health Equity, Anti-Black Racism, and the Art of Health Promotion. It looks at how to engage in health education and health promotion through the lens of understanding anti-Black racism and understanding what health equity means for Black and racialized communities. The course will provide a sense of what needs to be eliminated from our system to ensure that we get the proper health education and health information that we need as racialized communities.

Can you explain your teaching philosophy?

I teach by the philosophy of ubuntu. It’s a South African term meaning “I am because we are.”

No matter what course I teach, I understand that I exist because you exist. My well-being is dependent on your well-being. I want my students to understand the concept that I have to care about other people because my existence depends on their well-being.

To be successful in providing health-care services for Black communities, you must commit to the survival and well-being of Black people. It's not just learning about the Black community or learning about their health issues. What matters is what commitment you will be making to ensure that the community survives and that the individual in that community survives. It's about teaching collectivity.

I also want my students to know that I'm not the most influential person in the room. I'm just facilitating. We are collectively going to learn. I'm learning as much as you're learning, so it is very important to shift the power differential in the learning experience. I try to minimize power differentials between students and myself, and the power differentials between students. I'm trying to mirror anti-oppressive practice.

What are some of your other interests?

I love dancing. I am very passionate about cultural expression –and dancing is one of them. Because of COVID-19, everything is closed, so I dance in my house with my family. I used to dance professionally in an African dance company when I was younger. It's my childhood passion.

Is there anything else you want your students to know?

The issues I talk about are very serious, and so people take me as a very serious person. I am serious, but I like to have fun and learn at the same time.

After a 30-year career, I could have just retired – but I love working with young people. I think I'm very passionate about learning what the world is like for young people. I like to enjoy life and have fun. I think you can do that and still tackle some of these significant issues.

Our world is a tough place, so let's at least find some joy when we can.