What did you do last Friday night?
Ellen Chappell spends her Friday nights hanging out with a group of teenagers living with mental disabilities. Her aunt started Friday Night Social to create an opportunity for Chappell鈥檚 24-year-old cousin with Down syndrome and others to get together for a few hours.
鈥淚 like it because you can see how it really makes them happy,鈥� says Chappell. They do different activities each week including movie-watching, sports, games and yoga.
This 19-year-old AV俱乐部 student manages to fit community volunteering into a weekly schedule filled with varsity cross country or track and field practices, Dal classes and enough studying to maintain an exceptional 4.3 GPA 鈥� an exceptional CIS Academic All-Canadian, to say the least.
At this fall鈥檚 AUS cross-country championships, Chappell finished in the top seven and was named an AUS All-Star. She then finished 34th at the national championships 鈥� a big personal improvement from her 101st-place finish last year.
Hitting the track
Chappell鈥檚 talent for running began at William Aberhart High School in Calgary, where she ran on the track and cross country teams. She knew she wanted to compete in sports when she arrived at high school, and after trying out a few different ones, she found her aptitude in running. (Her 5ft. 10in. stature certainly helps.)
鈥淚 played soccer for a year, and all I was good at was the running part,鈥� Chappell says, laughing.
She attended a track practice with the AV俱乐部 team before choosing the university as her final destination, and she 鈥渞eally liked the coach and team.鈥� After a year with the Tigers, she won a bronze medal in the 3000m event at the 2012 Atlantic University Sport Championships.
The ocean-side, medium-sized school with the 鈥渞eally cool Sustainability鈥� program was the perfect fit for Chappell. Taking a double major in Biology and Environment, Sustainability, and Society, Chappell manages to hold a high GPA and made the Dean鈥檚 List last year. She was also the recipient of an entrance scholarship, in-course scholarship and the AV俱乐部 Alumni Leadership Scholarship.
鈥淚鈥檓 really interested in the environment,鈥� says Chappell. She plans to pursue a job working in sustainability 鈥� ideally, one abroad.
Giving back
Last summer, she helped coach her high school track team after returning home at the end of semester. She was able to 鈥渕ake up some of the workouts, and see the other side,鈥� of the practice. Despite it being 鈥渁 lot of fun,鈥� she only plans to volunteer with coaching while she focuses on her studies.
Like most university students, Chappell鈥檚 life is a balancing act. Between practices, she 鈥渢ries to be efficient as possible,鈥� and take advantage of whatever time she has for her school work.
鈥淩unning practices actually help,鈥� she says, because they put structure into her life. During the two weeks off between the cross-country and track seasons, she finds her life a bit more hectic without that structure. That鈥檚 why, if you ever see her the team bus, she鈥檒l often be found studying, staying efficient.
Chappell鈥檚 busy lifestyle leaves one to wonder what she does for fun. Luckily, the answer fits well into her weekly schedule.
鈥淐ross country is what I do for fun.鈥�