A former McMaster varsity athlete and once the men's athlete of the year, Keenan Jeppesen is set to become the new director of Athletics and Recreation
Come Sept. 23, Keenan Jeppesen is set to take the directors seat of the athletics and recreation department. Jeppesen, who is a familiar name within the McMaster community, has already demonstrated himself as a leader in his previous roles in Housing and Conference Services and Athletics, High Performance.
This transition from housing and conference services to athletics and recreation might seem like quite the shift, but Jeppesen was confident that it was the right choice.
"Housing touches so many parts of the institution around McMaster, so it was a great learning experience for me. Coming back to athletics and recreation, it is a different score but there's a lot of familiarity, whether its with the operations of the department or the staff," said Jeppesen
Born into an athletic family, Jeppesen was always determined to leave his mark on the sports world. Over the course of his career, he competed with the varsity basketball team at Brown University, where he was selected for the All-Ivy League Second-Team for the 2005-2006 season.
"I'm a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, so I've spent a good time in both countries. When I graduated high school, I got recruited to play college basketball at Brown University. I spent around three years there, then after graduating I returned to Canada," said Jeppesen
His return to athletics and recreation is particularly meaningful, as he is a former student-athlete at McMaster and won the male athlete of the year award in 2010.
"After a brief stint at Western, I came to McMaster to do my Masters in Business Administration where I also played on the varsity basketball team for a year. We had a pretty successful season, we were ranked third in the country, and personally I've had my best individual year. Unfortunately, the season came to an end prematurely due to my ACL tear," said Jeppesen
Jeppesen's previous personal experience and relationship with athletes over the years means that he will be entering office with expectations to achieve. He aims to communicate effectively with athletes to improve their experience in the school and the department.
"I was in their shoes, but I try not to make too many assumptions about others experiences even though I can relate. For example, a lot has changed since I was last working within the department, so I understand that things may not be the same compared to when I was around. So my objective is, as soon as I enter office, to consult with athletes, coaches and other staff to get their perspectives about various things such as their challenges, what they're excited about and what we can do better to improve their experience at the school," said Jeppesen
Jeppesen's return to athletics and recreation brings an experienced leader back to the department, after a few years spent in other sections of the university. With a varsity background and leadership experience embedded at McMaster, he is set to take office on Sep. 23 with a fresh perspective. While his path forward may present challenges, this leadership change could contribute to positive developments within the department.
A look into Mac student Puisand Lai's journey to competing for Canada at the 2024 Paralympics
A McMaster engineering student, and a rising star in the parasports scene, Puisand Lai is getting ready to compete for Canada in the 2024 Paralympic Games. Lai, who first began playing wheelchair basketball at the age of 13, has come a long way as a player for the women's national wheelchair basketball team.
Lai unexpectedly lost the ability to use her lower body when she was six years old and was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord. Despite this, when she was introduced to parasports, her gravitation to physical activity since childhood shined through.
Lai's mother encouraged her to try out wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis and sledge hockey. At one point, she was ranked number seven in the International Tennis Federation's World Rankings for girl's wheelchair tennis. In 2017, she was a member of the World Team Cup - the largest international team event in wheelchair tennis, featuring men's, women's, quad, and junior teams from around 50 countries.
Lai wrote in an article that she came to the realization that in order to advance to the next level of competition, she had to hone in on sport. With great difficulty, she decided to let go of tennis and devote herself entirely to wheelchair basketball because she was drawn to the sport's sense of friendship and teamwork. "If I wanted to get serious about playing at the next level, I had to really dial in on one sport," stated Lai.
At the age of seventeen, she became the youngest member of the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball national team in 2018. She has since participated in other high-profile competitions, such as two world titles, two Parapan American Games, and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where Canada placed fifth. The team's goal is to place on the podium in Paris to claim their position as one of the best Paralympic teams, not having won a medal since 2004.
At the age of seventeen, she became the youngest member of the Canadian Women's Wheelchair Basketball national team in 2018. She has since participated in other high-profile competitions, such as two world titles, two Parapan American Games, and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where Canada placed fifth.
Lai has put in a lot of work and dedication to go to the Paralympic Games this year. After training in Quebec City with her colleagues in anticipation of the games, she expressed her excitement about the upcoming games and her confidence in the team’s potential. "I believe that every single one of us is really, really talented. We have the foundation to be a really great team," said Lai in an interview with the Canadian Paralympic Committee.
Lai attended McMaster University for a degree in mechanical engineering where she also excelled in athletics. After returning from Paris, she plans to complete her degree, but also to keep her options open, thinking about opportunities in engineering or picking up basketball again.
Lai attended McMaster University for a degree in mechanical engineering where she also excelled in athletics. After returning from Paris, she plans to complete her degree, but also to keep her options open, thinking about opportunities in engineering or picking up basketball again.
As she prepares to represent Canada abroad, Lai is an example of the power of mental determination. Her career is expected to soar to new heights with the Paralympic Games in Paris, beginning a new chapter in her amazing tale. In the end, her journey serves as a reminder that despite the obstacles we encounter, excellence is achievable with commitment and grit.
Yoohyun Park/Production Coordinator
After dissolving for a year, WALC has officially been brought back
The Women’s Athletic Leadership Committee was originally formed during the 2017-2018 season. However, during the pandemic season, the committee unfortunately dissolved. This year, it has been revamped, spearheaded by fifth-year basketball player Sarah Gates.
“My coach [Theresa Burns] has been a huge advocate for women's sports ever since I was in first year. She's always kind of encouraged us to find our voices and stand up for things we believe in and as I'm now in fifth year I kind of realized that I'm super passionate about women in sport,” said Gates.
WALC is made up of several teams that focus on initiatives such as education panels, fundraising, special events and community outreach. WALC also includes team representatives. The goal of WALC is to create a platform that empowers women athletes and encourages them to find their voice. During her past four years as a female student-athlete, Gates realized an opportunity to step up as a leader, and aid female student-athletes to find greater success by utilizing the community around them.
Mia Spadafora is also a member of WALC and she sits on the educational panel's executive team. She, like Gates, stressed the importance of the committee going forward.
“There are a lot of women in sport, especially women in Canadian sport, that don't really get the light shed on them that they need and deserve. So it's really important that we can kind of form and start this in our own community before hopefully getting more of an outreach and growing that towards other people and other communities,” explained Spadafora.
For Spadafora and Gates, WALC is just the first step in generating a larger spotlight on female sports. They focus on women supporting women as they advocate for themselves and their own well-deserved recognition.
For example, they hope to begin with women's teams going out to support other women's teams at their games. Spadafora explained that the stadium only starts to get full near the end of the game as spectators come out to watch the men’s game that happens right after. As such, simply putting women's sports on the map and building awareness is a high priority and challenge for the committee.
However, simply empowering female McMaster athletes is not enough for this team. Gates wants to be able to reach out into the community as role models and mentors to people of all ages and experiences, from alumni to those who are no longer actively competing.
In addition to encouraging awareness, WALC has many events planned on the horizon. In October, they recently completed their first workshop, the WALC Empower Hour designed to support female student-athletes in all aspects of their life including nutrition, sleep habits and networking.
In November, they are planning an alumni panel with a coaches panel in December. They are also starting community outreach virtually by conversing with community and club teams about goals, goal setting and balancing a student-athlete lifestyle. There are many more events in the works, including a women’s athletic leadership event for International Women’s Day in the second semester with continuous workshops and panel discussions.
WALC is back and here to stay. Be sure to keep an eye out for their events. Tickets for the women’s basketball and volleyball games are now available at https://mcmaster.universitytickets.com/.
