Teaching, hands-on experience and research: award-winning undergrad did it all plus something she didn’t expect

Lindsay Wilson knew she’d have a blast at her grad formal but never thought it would turn into one of her best days as a kinesiology student.

The formal’s an annual tradition organized by the McMaster Kinesiology Society. Along with dinner and lots of dancing, awards are handed out by faculty. One of those honours – the  Alan J. Smith Award – goes to the graduating student who’s excelled academically and been involved in both the Department of Athletics & Recreation and within the kin community.

The award went to Lindsay, who says she was stunned to hear her name called. “That was one of my favourite moments at McMaster – being recognized for my contributions while surrounded by my kin family. There’s no one else I would’ve rather shared that moment with – it’s a memory I’m going to cherish forever.”

She’d arrived at Mac four years earlier with a wish list – do some teaching, gain practical, hands-on experience and get involved in research. Lindsay did it all plus something she wasn’t expecting.

In her second year, Lindsay became an Anatomy and Physiology teaching assistant – she continued working as a TA for the rest of her undergrad degree. The lab uses human cadavers to teach about the body’s anatomy and physiology – it’s an experience few universities offer first-year students. It was never an issue for Lindsay although there was always at least one student at the start of every term who’d come close to passing out. Watching out for those students was part of the job description.

To gain practical experience, Lindsay volunteered at the Physical Activity Centre of Excellence, helping community clients meet their health and wellness goals. She also worked as a student field therapist with the varsity cross-country and track team and as a student clinical therapist in the David Braley Sport Medicine & Rehabilitation Centre.

Lindsay discovered a passion for cardiovascular health in a course taught by assistant professor Baraa Al-Khazraji – the course also highlighted the lack of research around women’s health. That led Lindsay to professor Maureen MacDonald’s Vascular Dynamics Lab. She joined the lab as a third-year undergraduate placement student working under PhD student Jenna Stone, focusing on the impact of oral contraceptive pills and intrauterine devices on women’s vascular health.

Lindsay continued working in the Vascular Dynamics lab through the summer as a research assistant. And in her fourth year, PhD student Matt Badour agreed to supervise her senior thesis project. Lindsay’s research focused on the impact of 12 weeks of exercise training on arterial function following  a maximal bout of aerobic exercise in individuals with type 1 diabetes compared to healthy controls. Her thesis project was capped off with an invitation to present her work at the 25^th Annual Bertha Rosenstadt National Undergraduate Research Conference hosted by the University of Toronto.

While teaching, gaining practical experience and doing undergraduate research had been in Lindsay’s plans from the start, she hadn’t expected to join the varsity figure skating team. She began figure skating when she was seven years old. She competed regionally and nationally but stopped completely during COVID.

She’d been away from the sport for nearly two-and-a-half-years when members of the team reached out and encouraged Lindsay to get back on the ice. She was beyond rusty during her try-out. “It went horribly.” The coaches disagreed and welcomed Lindsay to the team. For the next three years from September to March she went to three or four practices and one or two workouts every week in the High Performance Area for varsity athletes.

She looked forward to the provincial championships, with its balance of competitive energy and fun. “It was cool being part of a big team – I didn’t experience that growing up. And cheering and supporting athletes from every school was one of the highlights – it took some of the pressure off the competitions and made them less nerve-racking.” Being a varsity athlete also made Lindsay a better student by honing her time management skills. “You quickly learned how to study and do homework during whatever downtime you had.”

Ever the teacher, Lindsay plans to retire from competition and move into coaching so she can introduce the sport she loves to children.

So how did the Alan J. Smith Award winner manage to do it all? “I’d say it was a lot of work with a little bit of luck. I made really strong connections with upper-year Kin students who helped guide me in the right direction and steered me away from their mistakes and missed opportunities. They were so supportive and generous with their time. It made all the difference.”

As Lindsay became the “upper-year Kin student”, she made a point of returning the favour by mentoring younger students and sharing her personal experiences. “This is what makes us such a close and tight-knit community. We look out for each other. I’m so grateful to have been part of this amazing family for the past four years.”