University of Guelph-Humber

University of Guelph-Humber kinesiology student Nicholas Graham turned a painful injury into inspiration.

Upon graduating high-school, Graham worked for three years at a Honda auto plant in Alliston when he started suffering from an ailing shoulder. As Graham worked on his recovery with a physiotherapist and chiropractor, he discovered a new passion – and a career path.

“That’s when I got passionate about rehab,” Graham recalled. “I decided then I wanted to pursue healthcare.”

Graham enrolled in college, but he found that his instructors kept mentioning the University of Guelph-Humber’s kinesiology program. When he discovered UofGH’s transfer program, which recognized his college credits and allowed him the opportunity to fast-track toward a degree, he was confident it was the right fit.

Right away, his studies brought back memories of his recovery. A course on ergonomics looked at optimal factory design, and brought back memories of seeing kinesiologists with ergonomic certifications circulating at his plant.

“There’s definitely a lot of practical application,” Graham said of his coursework. “In class, sometimes I’ll sit there thinking that everything we’re learning is theory, and then the teacher will tie it all around and say: ‘This is how you apply it.’

“Our injuries course was one with some of the most practical application. Our exam questions laid out the situation and asked for our diagnosis and treatment protocol. And that’s important because if we don’t apply it to a case study, then how are we going to apply it to a real-life situation when you’re out there?”

Graham is expecting to graduate from UofGH next spring, two years after completing his college diploma. He hasn’t decided whether he wants to pursue a job in kinesiology or more schooling, but he likes his options.

“I’m not 100 per cent sure yet. I’m thinking chiropractor, physiotherapy, registering as a kinesiologist and doing strength and conditioning, or going for a medical degree,” Graham said. “I’m definitely passionate about the field though, and I guess that’s the big thing.”

Learn more about Kinesiology at the University of Guelph-Humber.

Learn more about transferring to the University of Guelph-Humber.