Week 10: Beth Blackett

Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I grew up in Peterborough, got involved with sport in grade 7 when I made my first volleyball team, and my love for sport and physical activity has only continued to grow since then. In high school, I spent most of my free time either playing sport, scorekeeping, coaching or watching others to improve my skills. I wanted to keep sport in my life in University so I decided to study kinesiology with the plan of becoming a physiotherapist or athletic therapist. In my fourth year, I took a course in health behaviour change which gave me a different perspective on the role of physical activity in population health. I decided to apply to graduate school programs in health promotion which led me to my current job doing this work at Queen’s University. Sport and physical activity still plays a big role in my life and is always evolving. These days I coach muscle conditioning classes, practice yoga and run around and play with my two young active girls.

How has sport helped you develop skills for your work today?

Sport led me to the career that I have now in a field that I love! The skills I rely on every day to manage multiple projects while under tight time constraints I initially developed through my involvement with sport. Being on multiple sports teams meant that I needed to be good at managing my time, especially since I needed to maintain a good GPA to continue playing. I also had to learn how to make quick yet good decisions during pressure-filled situations that led to the best outcome for my team. Today my projects almost always involve working cohesively with others with the common goal of improving the well-being of the students on our campus.

Why do you consider yourself a leader? How do you define leadership?

I think good leaders are those who motivate others, lead by example and are always looking to better themselves. I have been fortunate to have had some amazing coaches as an athlete and supervisors as an employee. These people have helped me discover my own ever-evolving leadership style. Every day I strive to help my team discover and utilize their true potentials in order to achieve extraordinary things.