KIN is home to many students who are doing great things for KIN, other students, the campus at large and greater Vancouver community. Each month we will select a student who is demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovation, athletic or academic excellence and creativity in their academic, extracurricular or personal endeavors. These students will share their stories and experiences with us all right here!
March 2012 Undergraduate Student of the Month: Milica Sever
Name: Milica Sever
Year: 3rd
Stream: Physical Education
Undergraduate Involvements: KUS, KTP Transition Program and UBC Sororites
Favourite KIN Memory: Whistler Frosh 2010
Favourite sport/hobby: Volleyball and Lifeguard Competitions!
March 2012 Graduate Student of the Month: Chantelle Murnaghan
Hi! My name is Chantelle Murnaghan. I’m a fourth year PhD student in Kinesiology. I very proudly grew up in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, but I have spent a significant amount of time in both Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as here in Vancouver!
After high school in PEI, I moved to Halifax to complete my BSc in Kinesiology at Dalhousie University. My original plan was to go into Physiotherapy but that quickly changed when I did my 4th year independent research project with Dr. Cheryl Hubley-Kozey. Dr. Hubley-Kozey was a biomechanist and professor in the Physiotherapy department and she supervised my project on chronic low back pain and stability.
After completing my BSc, and taking a year to really make sure it was what I wanted, I decided to pursue my Masters degree in biomechanics in the School of Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Robinovitch. That is where I really got into studying postural control. In my MSc lab we focused mostly on fall and hip fracture prevention by understanding how we maintain and recover balance.
After completing my MSc, I knew I wanted to continue with postural control research, but instead of studying it using mostly biomechanics, I really wanted to understand more about the neural control of posture. To pursue this line of research, I had to look no further than across town to the School of Human Kinetics at UBC.
I am currently in the Neural Control of Posture and Movement Laboratory and I am co-supervised by Dr. Mark Carpenter and Dr. Tim Inglis. I also TA HKIN 389, and last year I was the TA for HKIN 473. We have a wonderful group of fun and hardworking people in our lab who make coming to work every day enjoyable. Being at UBC and living in Vancouver has been an amazing experience for me and something I wouldn’t change for the world.
March 2012 Staff Member of the Month: Daniel Pugh
I have been working for the School of Kinesiology since 2006; originally as a part-time student worker and now as a full-time staff member. I came to Vancouver from Whitehorse, Yukon in 2004 to study at UBC. I completed my degree in International Relations in 2008, and have been working for the school ever since. My goal as a Senior Program Assistant is to see our Outreach Programs excel so that we can better serve the community, university and student body.
Aside from my full-time job, my wife and I teach Kung Fu throughout the week at various locations across Vancouver. In my spare time I enjoy training for and racing in Triathlons. This July I will be entering the Subaru Vancouver International Half Ironman Triathlon; in the future, I would like to be able to race in full Ironman distance races.
March 2012 Staff Member of the Month: Kreg Weiss, BHK ’10
Having represented Canada internationally as a gymnast earlier on in his life, Kreg Weiss, was naturally drawn to yoga. Now an entrepreneur with a thriving online yoga business (MyYogaOnline.com), Kreg appreciates that his time at the School of Kinesiology has allowed him to combine his exercise science background with yoga in order to deliver a holistic yoga experience.
While at UBC, Kreg worked as a Personal trainer and Group Fitness Instructor where he then became certified as a Hatha yoga teacher. A highlight of his time at UBC was a yoga charity program that he created. This program offered free outdoor yoga classes at English Bay where people could offer donations in support of Doctors Without Borders. After three seasons of these classes, over $3000 was raised, and 50 participants regularly attended each class.
Kreg enjoyed yoga and its benefits so much that he decided to take it to a new level. He then co-founded MyYogaOnline.com. His idea for the business was born through his experience as a yoga teacher where he continuously saw a need for a convenient, affordable way for people to practice yoga. With today’s busy schedules and limited cash flow, he felt that the online yoga concept would really help people maintain consistency and motivation in their yoga practice—and keep all the benefits of yoga in their life.
Kreg notes that one of the most rewarding aspects of his endeavor is the fact that the online quality of his company allows him to constantly be interacting with the site’s members. He is able to use his education and background to offer tips, insight and solutions to people as they make use of the service. For example, recently Kreg has been working with an online member in his early 50s who struggles with acute neck and back pain. Kreg and his colleagues came up with modifications within postures that worked well for him, and his back and neck pain isn’t bothering him nearly as much now.
Kreg currently resides in Montreal while still working virtually with his company that operates from Vancouver. MyYogaOnline.com continues to be very successful and is currently providing health and wellness videos to Air Canada (In-Flight Entertainment Health and Wellness), TiVo, York University, the University of Iowa – to name a few. To check out his company click here.
