Huskies women’s basketball guard Geena Frew has had quite the athletics journey on and off the court. She went from being a student therapist with the Waterloo Warriors to continuing her education with George Brown College and competing for the Huskies basketball team. Clearly, she loves being around sports.
The journey began at the University of Waterloo when she enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology Co-op program specializing in ergonomics. The program was tough and the hours of studying seemed unmeasurable, but it allowed Frew to grow.
“A lot of the knowledge I learned I did internalize and helps give me context for everything that I do and how I view the world. It shaped me as a person and how to critically analyze or view information presented to me, which I think was one of the most valuable things learned,” she explained.
Thanks to her program, she became a student therapist for Waterloo’s men’s volleyball team in her first year. She wanted to be a part of the sports environment and being a student therapist was a perfect way to get involved while using the practical knowledge she learned in school. She was in the position for four years and loved every second of it.
“It was great to see the progression from being a junior student therapist, senior student therapist and in my final year being head student therapist. This progression from not knowing much to being able to teach and train others was a great experience that I really enjoyed,” she explained.
After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Frew knew she needed more education to be in a more specialized field. George Brown College was the only school in Ontario, and one of only two in Canada, to have an orthotics and prosthetics program. When the Oakville, Ontario native learned more about the program, she fell in love.
“I love working with people. As a student trainer, I really enjoyed my time working the athletes and helping them improve and compete at their highest capability. I felt it was very similar in orthotics and prosthetics. It is helping to optimize a person’s capabilities of being able to do all the things they want in their life,” she said.
One aspect she loves about the program is what college is all about.
“I love how hands-on it is and that there are multiple opportunities to learn the concepts practically. We first prep for it on our own. Do student projects and then apply it to real-life patients and then do presentations and write reflection notes on it. It is a great way to reinforce the principles that they really want us to remember,” she explained.
Right from the moment she was accepted to George Brown College in 2019, she was highly interested in joining the women’s basketball team.
“I played basketball in high school, and I loved it. Like any other team sport, hustle can win games and I loved working hard pushing myself and competing,” she explained. “Once I got into George Brown and I started to look up the team, that’s when I realized that we had some great coaching staff and a promising team at George Brown.”
She brought enthusiasm and commitment to the team the moment she joined. Her efforts were recognized, especially off the court, as she earned the Kimchan Fitness Award in 2020 for her commitment in the weight room. She has also excelled in the classroom throughout her four years at George Brown College. She was named a 2019-20 OCAA All-Academic and achieved Honour Roll status in all of her semesters of studies to date. On the court, Frew was a spark plug off the bench doing everything possible to help the team win in the 18 games she played in.
From all the highs and lows since arriving at George Brown, Frew has truly enjoyed her experience.
“My GBC journey has been long and short in many ways. Being a pandemic graduate is very odd. I can say that I braved a pandemic with the help of my friends and family. Sports has definitely kept me sane, and I do not know what I would do without it,” he explained. “I am grateful for every instructor, patient volunteer, classmate, teammate, varsity family, trainer and everyone in between that has had made my experience as memorable as it has been.”
Her career goal is to work in a clinic setting relating to her field, but in the short term, the goal is fairly simple.
“After I am done at George Brown, I am required to do a two-year residency in either orthotics or prosthetics before I can become certified. That is the current goal,” she explained.
Frew will graduate from her program in the next few months and won’t be playing for the Huskies come the fall. However, she will never forget her experience with the program.
“Being a Husky to me is about being compassionate, loyal, and trustworthy athletes. Being proud to wear the Husky jersey and grateful for the privilege of being able to compete and excel at a sport,” she said. “It is about being a well-rounded individual, which includes both on and off the court. I am very proud of my time as a Husky, which helped give me a sense of accomplishment of my athletic endeavours.”
