This is my story

I grew up in a small town called Pender Harbour, just a ferry ride away from Vancouver, BC. To give you an idea of just how small it is, the population is about 5000 people most of whom only reside there in the summer months.

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Despite the small-town environment, I played many different sports growing up. I competed in Basketball for 7 years and was asked to join the junior provincial team, which was based out of Vancouver. Soccer was a real passion that I played for 14 years, 3 of which on a Rep league team that traveled regularly to Vancouver to compete. During my high school soccer career, I managed to secure the MVP title for 5 seasons.

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But being a woman in sports presented numerous challenges for me. I was constantly told that I needed to focus on finding a "real" career and that sports were not a viable option. Many people doubted my abilities and would tell me that I was only good for a small-town kid and that I would never be able to compete with the kids from the city. These comments left me feeling like I was constantly falling short of greatness.

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Despite these challenges, I refused to give up. I always knew that I wanted to break the mold for small-town youth, especially for young women who face gender barriers on top of the usual challenges. I believe that sports can be a powerful tool for personal growth and empowerment, and I want to prove that anyone, regardless of where they come from, can achieve greatness with hard work and determination.

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The main sport that I believed would be my shot at making the Olympics was Track and Field. In grade 9, my high school Math teacher stepped up to coach, taking a group of us into Vancouver weekly for track meets. I fell in love with high jump, I had no idea what I was doing, had none of the equipment, but I went out there and I jumped as hard as I could. I was surprisingly good for being a latecomer to the sport and made the Zone 5 Team for BC Games competing as a Pentathlete. In 2011, I moved to Vancouver with my dad and attended Handsworth Secondary for Grade 11 and 12 (where my grad class was 3x the size of my entire school back home). I was able to get better coaching and compete regularly with NorWesters Track Club.

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In 2015, I was recruited to join the SFU Track and Field team for high jump and pentathlon/heptathlon. I studied Criminology and Kinesiology as I had an interest in policing and personal training at the time. After 2 years of high jump and feeling as though I had plateaued, I was starting to give up on my Olympic dream. It was time to explore my options of events that were better suited to me like javelin and shot-put. My parents and I even sat down and went through a list of Olympic sports to see if any sparked an interest or were better suited to my athletic strengths. My dad mentioned bobsleigh, and I had never really thought about a winter sport as an option, but it did seem to check all the boxes. The idea of snow and the cold made me a bit reluctant to jump on the bobsleigh train. But alas here we are almost 6 years later competing in a winter sport, on a mission to inspire the next generation of youth and achieve my Olympic goal

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As a woman in sports, I've faced a lot of challenges throughout my athletic career. Despite the obstacles, I never gave up on my passion for athletics and breaking down barriers. I thought that once I made a national team, the narrative around me being a woman in sports would change. However, I'm still fighting constantly to have my work as an athlete be seen as a career that pays the bills.

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But I'm not giving up. I believe in fighting for what's right, and I want to change the narrative for women, especially young women. That's why I've made it my mission to speak in schools across Canada to inspire and motivate the next generation to dream big and push through any barriers in their way.

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With my sights set on being a world-class bobsledder, I'm equally committed to becoming a mentor and role model for women in sport. It's my goal to prove that greatness is achievable for anyone, regardless of their gender.