Windsor student prepares for active future

By Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Kyla Davidson’s enthusiasm for an active lifestyle will take her all the way to Ottawa next month.

The Windsor resident has been selected to attend a five-day recreation conference, Activate National Youth Leadership Conference 2008, at Carleton University.

Only 40 youth, ages 16-22, from 140 applicants were selected for Activate 2008, says program manager Danielle Vienneau, and only three from Nova Scotia. The conference, run by Motivate Canada - a youth development organization - brings together young Canadians from diverse backgrounds to share their experiences in sport, recreation and physical activity, to learn leadership skills and to plan projects to motivate young people in their home communities through active initiatives.

Davidson is looking forward to the fun and challenges of Activate, taking place May 7-11. “The experiences, the knowledge and what other people have to say about recreation and sport,” will capture her attention.

A role model for an active lifestyle, the 17-year-old plays soccer, takes dance classes and is a trained lifeguard. For the past three years she has shared her passion for recreation with Windsor youngsters, working for the Town’s Recreation department.

Davidson has worked with kids in soccer, creative movement classes and private birthday parties and camps. Last summer, she enjoyed helping preschoolers with special needs at Windsor Recreation’s daycamps. “You really get to know a certain child, spend every day with them, know what they like and don’t like.”

Does an awesome job

During this year’s March Break day camps, she stepped into the role of coordinator. Her employer, Recreation Director Jim Lambert, says Davidson, “an outstanding individual,” shone in the role. “For a whole week, she was on button 10. She always wears that motivated hat. She does an awesome job, she’s a top notch employee.”

Breaking with annual tradition of winding up March Break camps with a bowling field trip, Davidson decided, with three trained lifeguards on her staff, to take all the campers to the Dartmouth Sportsplex to enjoy its popular waterslides at Pirates’ Cove. The new outing was very successful, she notes; “chaotic, but fun.”

Working with the recreation department has been a lot of fun, Davidson adds. Not only has she made friends of all ages, the work has shaped her career goals. Despite challenges of frustrating moments and struggles for mutual understanding when guiding preschoolers, Davidson enjoys working with young children so much, she’s planning to continue the work with a career in early elementary teaching.

She smiles when talking about the fun she has had with the kids. “They each have their own way of doing things,” and says she enjoys helping them “make better decisions.”

In September, Davidson will join Kingstec’s Early Childhood Education program, with plans to go on to study education at Mount Saint Vincent University.

In the meantime, this spirited young woman has no plans to slow down. Davidson hopes to bring back exciting projects from Activate and to continue working with Windsor’s kids while at Kingstec.