Children with disabilities motivate kinesiology grad

Kung

Tracy Kung wants to get more children with disabilities turned on to sports.

"I think that people with disabilities generally don’t participate enough in physical activity," says Kung, who lives with a visual impairment. "I want to help them overcome the barriers."

Kung graduates from UVic this month with a kinesiology degree and has already applied to several graduate schools in her quest to be a physiotherapist. It’s a profession that has already played a large role in her life.

"When I was four, I had a brain tumour that caused my visual impairment," she explains. "I had to re-learn how to walk and it was physiotherapy that helped me walk again."

Kung’s plans have changed since she first started university. "I was going to go into general science and biology, but then I took anatomy," she says. "It made me realize I was more interested in the human aspect of science."

Kung’s passion for physical activity—and for getting others involved—is evident in her extra-curricular activities. She started ballet when she was six, is a marathon runner, and recently started cycling. She’s worked as an exercise therapist and volunteered at the sports injury clinic at UVic, the cardiac rehabilitation program at Panorama Recreation Centre, and Operation Trackshoes, an athletic festival for people with mental disabilities in B.C.

She also volunteers with the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health where she’s been a summer camp leader and helped out with the pool rehabilitation, teen drop-in, and community family respite programs.

"I’m motivated by helping kids with disabilities," she says. "My friends and family have instilled in me the philosophy that I can do the same things as anybody else. I want to be an advocate for people with disabilities and show them that they can do those things too."