A Love For Education And A Passion For Networking Led Kelsey Fahie To Her Dream Job With PHE Canada

Most of my experiences in sport, whether they were work or volunteer experiences, came from utilizing the connections I have made with people within the industry through networking.

Kelsey Fahie

Coordinator, Programs and Resources

Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE)

5I know you have a strong passion for health and physical education, so to be working for an organization like PHE Canada, what are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your role as the Coordinator of Programs and Resources at PHE?

The most rewarding part about my job is knowing that the work I do every day positively impacts Canadian youth and teaches them how to lead healthy, active lives. I fell in love with sports and physical activity at a young age, and teaching kids about how to be confident and competent movers and thinkers is such an incredibly important and rewarding task.

The most challenging part about my job is not being able to be a part of the delivery of the programs and initiatives that I help to develop. When I worked for Athletics Nova Scotia, I was able to not only create programs and events, but I was there to administer them across the province. This enabled me to witness the positive impact that these programs and events were having on the kids and youth.

When you work for a national organization, oftentimes you don’t get the opportunity to see your programs being run, or to see your resources getting utilized. There have been some opportunities in the community delivering PHE Canada initiatives, which has been wonderful. I just miss being able to not only create the programs and resources but to deliver them to kids and youth as well. To me, there is no better feeling than seeing a kid smile and be physically active while participating in an initiative that you helped to create.

6You've loved sport since a very young age. When was the point you realized that you were meant to do this career? Take us through that realization.

When I was in high school, I was a multi-sport athlete and played four varsity sports. I was good at each one, but I didn’t particularly stand out in a single one, so when I went to university, I didn’t play varsity sports.

In high school, being an athlete was a part of my identity, so to start a new chapter of my life while also losing a part of myself was extremely hard. I attended university where I was enrolled in a Human Kinetics program.

I knew I loved sport and physical activity but was still unsure of what career path I would make out of it.

In the beginning, I went through a bit of an identity loss, until I realized that there were other ways that I could continue to be a part of sport without having to be a varsity athlete. This was a turning point for me.

After that, I immersed myself in all things to do with sport and recreation management at the school.

I joined the Human Kinetics Society and was the Co-President in my final year of studies, I worked for StFX Recreation as the Student Director of Intramural Programming, and I coached various youth sports programs within the community: from basketball to track and field to multi-sport to Special Olympics.

Having these roles, as well as summer student positions each year with Athletics Nova Scotia, allowed me to cultivate a deep love for sport administration.

This enticed me to continue my education, and I applied for a master’s degree in Human Kinetics with a concentration in Sport Management.

7Having recently graduated with your Masters in Human Kinetics, why was it important for you to further your education?

I have always loved going to school and learning. Some of my favourite courses I took during my undergraduate degree included:

• Gender and Sport and Physical Activity
• Sociology of Sport
• Modern Olympic Games
• Adaptive Physical Education
• Historical Perspectives of Sport and Recreation in Canada
• Ethics of Sport
• Sport and Society

Knowing that I loved the humanities of sport, I believed that working for a sports organization would be a great way to incorporate some of my educational interests into my vocational life. My undergraduate degree gave me a background in kinesiology, but I knew that I needed to pair that with a degree that would teach me about how to work for a sports organization, and all that came with it.

Through my master's degree, I learned about sport event management, sports marketing, finance, organizational theory and behaviour, and so much more. I believe my degrees complement one another very well and have helped to set me up for a successful career within the Canadian sports industry. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll even go for my PhD!