Cassidy King of the University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team is the winner of the Cascades' Community Athlete of the Year award.

The women's volleyball senior from North Delta, B.C. has been deeply involved in the community, both on and off campus, over her five years with the Cascades. She's participated in UFV Kinesiology's Champions for Health Promoting Schools initiative for three years, leading health and physical education programming in Antigua. This past season, she led the Cascades women's volleyball team's community outreach to Worthington Cottage, a seniors rehab facility. She's active on campus as a youth camp leader with UFV Campus Recreation, and coached club volleyball with the Junior Cascades. She's also worked as a personal support system for two individuals with physical and cognitive designations; served as a program coordinator for the Physical Literacy Action Network; and volunteered with an activity leadership program for students with FASD.

We connected with King this week for a Q&A, quizzing her on her array of volunteer touchpoints.
  In the selection committee's research for this award, you were described as someone who is truly altruistic in your approach to volunteering – not looking to build your resumé, but purely passionate about helping people. How did you develop that mentality? Are there role models in your life who helped teach you the value of giving back?

"Honestly, the Kin culture at UFV really helped with that. Kinesiology students and faculty really made me want to get involved. When I dipped my toe into the water and started volunteering for professors and student organizations, I kind of got hooked on giving back and putting myself out there. Helping other people has been really rewarding for me.

"Dr. Joanna Sheppard, a kinesiology professor at UFV, really hooked me on giving back through her program, Champions for Health Promoting Schools. Making an impact on somebody, whether it's a colleague or a student in the community… seeing her do that for everybody around her made me want to give back in the same way she does."

Speaking of Champions for Health – what are some of your best memories from those trips to Antigua?

"I've made two trips to Antigua, and this was going to be my third year. It's been cancelled now (due to COVID-19), but we're still going to be sending down lesson plans and everything that we've kind of accumulated. We've been preparing for months now, so we're still going to be able to contribute something in that way.

"Some of the best memories are of having students come up to you and tell you what they learned in your lessons regarding their health and overall wellness. It's so impactful. Even going back the second time and having students run up to you – 'Miss King, Miss King! I'm so glad you're back!' I'm going to cry here – it just made such a huge impact on me and the person I want to become. The students there have shaped me in that way."

You led the women's volleyball team's community project, visiting senior citizens at Worthington Cottage. Your head coach Janelle Rozema says you "quickly connected with the clients there and made fast meaningful relationships." That's an incredible ability – is that something that comes naturally to you, and how do you do it?

"That's a really good question. I think that it is pretty natural for me. I try to put myself out there and start relationships, whether that just means saying hi and shaking someone's hand, or making sure I'm making eye contact. I think that goes a long way as far as how people respond to you. I have a good ability to read people, and I try to be meaningful in the questions I ask and the way I talk to them, and try to be an active listener. So it is natural for me, but I'm also intentional about it, if that makes sense."

You've worked for UFV Campus Rec, running spring and summer sport camps. What's the funniest thing you've heard or seen from a camper?

"One of the funniest things I've heard from a camper is, one of them came up to me and said, 'You know, I really like you as a camp leader. But I like my other camp leader better.' (Laughs) And I had a girl who had glasses, and we wanted her to keep wearing them but they kept falling off. So in craft time, we made her a pair of pretend glasses out of two used paper rolls and some pipe cleaners, and she decided to wear those."

For most of the past year, you've worked as a personal support system for two individuals with physical and cognitive designations. Tell us about what that experience meant to you.

"I worked with two brothers in the community with global dyspraxia, from last January (2019) until a few months ago. They are extremely gifted and educated young adults, and they have just impacted me so much. They've taught me so many things about communication – they're non-verbal, and they communicate through type. I worked as a support for everyday life activities – getting them around, going for coffee, things like that, and they have really contributed to the way I interact and talk to people. It's so important to sit down and get to know people you're interacting with. These boys don't have the opportunity to speak, so they often get overlooked. But they're fully functioning, and highly intelligent. They've even written their own novel, and they write extremely elaborate poetry. It's really made me step back and realize everybody has a story, and you can't judge a book by its cover. I know that's really cliché, but it's true. It's changed the way I look at people and take the time to get to know them for who they really are."

This award kind of closes the book on your Cascades career. Has it sunk in yet that after five years, you've played your last university volleyball game? 

"I've been preparing for this time with (UFV kinesiology professor and sports psychologist) Roger Friesen for months now, but I don't think it's sunk in. I don't think it will until maybe the new season starts. It's been kind of hard, and I think it will be hard. But I'm still looking to be involved somehow, whether that's with the team or with Junior Cascades in some way."

What are your best Cascades volleyball memories, and what's next for you?

"The first time I got to step on the court (in a game), in my second year – that's one of the best memories I've had. Also, winning the PACWEST bronze medal this year with lifelong friends I know I'll have, and even people I've just met this year who have had such an impact on me. Being able to share that moment with them was really special for me.

"I've applied for the teacher education program at UBC, teaching secondary physical education. I'm waiting to hear back on that in May, I think it is. That's my plan as of right now, and we'll see where it goes from there."
 

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???? | Today, we announce our first 2020 #CascadesAwards winner! In the Community Athlete of the Year category, the winner is ... ?? ... Cassidy King of the Cascades women's volleyball team! Cassidy has an incredible passion for helping others, and we're so proud of her! Check the link in our bio for a Q&A with Cass! #WeClimbWeConquer

A post shared by UFV Cascades Athletics (@ufvcascades) on Apr 6, 2020 at 9:25am PDT