My Reflection of Post-Secondary Education

My name is Bryce and I am an alumni student from Brandon University. I enrolled through Inclusive Post-Secondary and took classes in the Physical Education program. I always thought about post-secondary. After graduating high school, I attended Life Skills program. When I heard about Inclusive Post-Secondary at a Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba retreat, I was excited to apply. I wanted to learn, be included in classes, meet new people with similar interests and I wanted to be challenged. Some courses I took were motor development, anatomy, sociology of sport, foundations of physical education, and health education.

In January 2020, I had the opportunity to speak and take part in a Physical Education conference for students at the University of Winnipeg and enjoyed it. I was a member of the Brandon University Physical Education Club and volunteered and worked at HLC. I made a lot of connections through time spent on campus. Some courses challenged me, i.e., anatomy, but I worked hard, learned a lot, and labelled lots of diagrams. I always wanted to write quizzes in class and with support from Scott, my professor and the Inclusive Post-Secondary coordinator, I wrote in class with my fellow classmates. Sometimes I felt frustrated and tired but that is part of being a student and I learned that being a student takes hard work. I was put on the spot a lot and I like being challenged.

During COVID-19, not being on campus was a challenge because I had a routine and had studied in Library on campus. Learning at home was different, I cannot see my friends at home and I felt out of my routine. I liked having a reason to leave the house and go to campus. I missed in person presentations, in person lectures, meeting people for coffee and working at HLC.

I benefited from in person learning and feel engaged in classes, from being in groups, and seeing my friends. All of this contributed to my learning experience. I had a good experience in class with students, I was able to interact with classmates and instructor, and ask for and receive assistance if and when I needed help or had a question.

Convocation looked very different for me but I was happy to celebrate with family. I look forward to working at HLC and travelling in the near future.