Kimberly Joines knows what it's like to turn a negative into a positive...in a big way.

The retired Olympian grew up able-bodied and athletic. Her love of skiing and snowboarding took her to Lake Louise, Alberta.

She ended up sustaining a spinal cord injury while snowboarding in 2000 which left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Joines then refocused her outlook on competitive sport, taking up sit-skiing. She went on to race for Team Canada for 14 years. Her most recent accolade was a bronze medal in women's slalom, sitting at the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Joines, who now lives in Rossland, BC,  visited Humboldt this week and spoke to a group of HCI students, and met with Humboldt Bronco Jacob Wassermann.

 "It's amazing to see how much the community pulled together throught all of this, and I'm happy to be able to help with any of the ones who have followed the same path as me and help get them set up for the new chapters in their lives," says Joines.

Joines recommends that newly-injured athletes like Wassermann should get right back into sports, and to reach out to others who have gone through similar injuries.

"It's a lot easier if you can focus on sport and jump right back into sport instead of getting all hung up on the fact that you ended up in a wheelchair," she explains.

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