{"id":102438,"date":"2025-06-12T09:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T13:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=102438"},"modified":"2025-06-12T18:53:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:53:24","slug":"brock-grad-finds-purpose-through-sport-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2025\/06\/brock-grad-finds-purpose-through-sport-social-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock grad finds purpose through sport, social justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ellie Szkwyra (BSc \u201922, BEd \u201924, MEd \u201925) first applied to Brock University, it wasn\u2019t part of a grand plan. In fact, she nearly didn\u2019t apply at all.<\/p>\n

Growing up in Richmond Hill, Szkwyra had her sights set on forensic science. But at the last minute, she applied to Brock\u2019s Concurrent Teacher Education program, which would quietly change the trajectory of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly can\u2019t pinpoint exactly what changed my mind,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m incredibly grateful that it did. Choosing Brock turned out to be one of the best decisions I\u2019ve ever made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven years later, Szkwyra is crossing the stage a third time to obtain her Master of Education with a concentration in Social Justice, all while teaching full time with the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) and wrapping up her final season as a varsity lacrosse player.<\/p>\n

Szkwyra\u2019s journey at Brock has spanned multiple eras, from pre-COVID lecture halls to remote learning and back, each chapter marked by growth and reinvention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI joined the Brock women\u2019s lacrosse team in my fifth year,\u201d she said. \u201cI was the oldest player on the field but also the newest. It was intimidating at first, but those years on the team were some of the most rewarding of my university experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Szkwyra grew into a leadership role over her three seasons with the team, finding community and purpose on and off the field.<\/p>\n

\"A

Ellie Szkwyra (BSc \u201922, BEd \u201924, MEd \u201925) played on the women’s lacrosse team while at Brock.<\/p><\/div>\n

That same sense of purpose followed her into the classroom. As a Physical and Health Education teacher, she was quick to notice the inequities which exist for many students, especially in access to sport and physical activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen so many kids without gym clothes or running shoes, or who don\u2019t have the means to play sports outside of school,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what drives me, learning how to break down those barriers and then applying that knowledge the very next day in my teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n

Szkwyra credits Brock\u2019s Master of Education program for helping her sharpen that focus, particularly through its emphasis on real-world issues and reflective practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne underrated aspect of Teacher Education at Brock is how relevant it is,\u201d she said. \u201cNow that I\u2019m in the field, I\u2019ll be sitting in staff meetings thinking, \u2018I literally just learned this at Brock last year.\u2019 That kind of alignment is something I didn\u2019t appreciate until I saw it in action.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a course on equity, diversity and inclusion taught by Associate Professor Leanne Taylor that first opened Szkwyra\u2019s eyes to the possibilities of social justice education, a turning point that reshaped how she perceived her role as a teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stopped seeing teaching as just delivering content and started seeing it as a way to contribute to meaningful change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She also found inspiration in instructors Jason Dorinzi and Rob Di Persio, who modelled the kind of compassionate, student-focused teaching she now strives to emulate in her own classroom.<\/p>\n

Outside of coursework, Szkwyra\u2019s summers working with Brock Recreation\u2019s Summer Camps sharpened her interest in leadership and educational administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that role, I learned how much I enjoy being part of something bigger. Organizing, leading and supporting teams,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really sparked my interest in moving into leadership roles in education.\u201d<\/p>\n

After crossing the stage at Brock\u2019s 117th Convocation, Szkwyra reflected on the university experience that changed her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019ve lived multiple lives here,\u201d she said. \u201cEach one brought something new, but the people, the community and the sense of purpose I discovered have never left me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Ellie Szkwyra (BSc \u201922, BEd \u201924, MEd \u201925) first applied to Brock University, it wasn\u2019t part of a grand plan. In fact, she nearly didn\u2019t apply at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":102459,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,40,188,55,1,58],"tags":[256,4437,98,12849,614,582,7584],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102438"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102460,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102438\/revisions\/102460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}