Department of Kinesiology : Meet Our Graduate Students

Current Research :

My research explores the intersections of sport, cultural politics, and the embodied expression of social power relations. Currently, I am investigating the ways in which the United States Paralympics is recruiting injured soldiers to participate in elite disability sport. Key concepts guiding this research include the politicization of the body, narratives of disability/ability, and the relationship between sport and militarism. I am also interested in contemporary urban yoga culture, particularly the ways in which the "yogic body" has become idealized and commodified.

Interesting Fact :
I play on a women's softball team that won the British national championship in 2007. I also play the mandolin (badly) and dream of someday starting my own bluegrass band.

Planned Career Path :
Upon completing my studies, I hope to pursue a career in teaching, research, and writing. I believe it is important to broaden and deepen the ways we understand and experience physical culture, so I also aim to engage in creative mediums that allow for unique expressions and interpretations of the active body.

Skills & Qualities :
My inspiration for pursuing a PhD grew out of several professional work experiences that alerted me to the political and cultural complexities of international sport. After coordinating sports projects in a refugee camp in northern Uganda for Right to Play, I worked in the international affairs office at the United States Olympic Committee and then served as a development manager for BaseballSoftballUK, the sports' national governing body in Great Britain. In addition to providing me with a strong set of professional skills, these posts also challenged me to question the roles and uses of sports in different cultural contexts. This curiosity, along with the passion that ignited my professional field work, led me to the academic study of physical culture and continues to inform my interests and goals.