Interview with Jacky Beckford-Henriques

Transcript

Anne Millar
I'm so happy to meet you in person and to get a chance to talk
to you about your career and your life.
So I'd love to start kind of at the beginning.
So I'd love to know a bit about your family background,
where you grew up and what your parents did.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I'm from Jamaica.
I'm a product of an English mother and Jamaican father.
And my dad was in the Royal Air Force in England.
So they met in England.
I'm a mixed child, as we call it.
My dad is black and Jamaican, and my mom is English and white.
And they came to Jamaica, decided not to have children in England because they didn't
like the sort of racial environment there.
And so I was born in Jamaica.
Grew up all my life there.
Came to Canada eight years ago.
I was a swimmer.
I'm now a swim coach.
And I am a physical education teacher by training.
Anne Millar
Wow. Yes.
Can I back you up a little bit to just your parents' decision to leave England.
When they were married, did they face a lot of resistance to that?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. And I think as -- my mum, I've realized as time has gone on, was really a strong woman.
For white woman to marry a black man -- and this was back in 1950.
For example, her father did not go to their wedding.
And they would have situations where she would go to rent an apartment, and she might go first.
And when my dad came, they were told, oh, the apartment is already gone.
So they took a decision not to have --
so they were actually married 10 years before I came along,
because my dad also was at university.
And they decided that they would wait till they got to Jamaica.
So that was really -- yes, they did face difficult situations
that made them make that decision.
Anne Millar
Yes. What was your father studying?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Civil engineering.
And my mom was a runner.
So sport has been totally our family's life.
There's a game called netball, which is similar to basketball.
And she was actually one of the people who started that game in Jamaica.
And we're actually ranked number two in the world now in netball, Jamaica.
And she was very involved for many, many years in that.
When they first met, she was ranked number four in 800 in England.
So our family -- I have one brother -- has been totally sport driven all our lives.
Anne Millar
Wow. Did your father have a similar background?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
He did.
He played cricket and what you call it soccer.
And then he actually -- my mum's coach actually used to send the workouts.
And I gather my dad used to stand on the side of the track with the watch and tell her go faster.
So their goal with their children was to have us obviously involved in sport.
And I feel very strongly myself that the -- what you get from sport, you know,
especially if you do such high level sport really affects how you balance your
life eventually.
And later on, I'll talk about that with our students.
Anne Millar
Yeah. So you grew up in Jamaica.
And you had one brother?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah.
Anne Millar
Yes. What did he end up going into?
Did he pursue athletics?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. He actually went to New York Tech on a track and field scholarship.
He ran 800.
Those running genes never made it to my side.
And he did finance at university, worked in finance for many years,
and now has gone into his passion of event management.
So he runs road races, open water swims, triathlons.
And he actually does those as well.
He still does, you know, crazy things like 100-mile runs and ultramarathon type of things.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
Oh, wow.
So that really -- that passion for athletics is strong.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. Yes.
Anne Millar
And can I talk about your early education?
So were you a strong student?
What were your favourite subjects that you enjoyed?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Jumping a bit, then I'll come back to this.
So my son, who went to McMaster University, started in engineering.
And he, after a year, said, "I don't want to do this."
And I remember saying to him, well, what do you want to do?
Geography.
What are you going to do with geography?
Well, the story does end well because he did end up doing GIS.
But he says, the only reason I go to university is to swim.
And if I couldn't -- don't go to university, I won't get to swim.
So that comes back to me.
I went to school and got through the necessaries because there --
this was where I could do my sport.
And I played netball.
I did track and field, dance, and I swam.
So that really allowed me.
Did I do well in school?
As I got further along in university,
I did better because I then saw the value, and I saw what I wanted to do.
And literally from I was 13 years old, I knew I wanted to be what I thought
at first a physical education teacher.
I knew where I was going to university in England.
So you know, that was all very set and very goal oriented.
So academically, I did all that was necessary to get there.
Anne Millar
To get there.
Oh, wow. So you said you wanted to be a physical education teacher.
Was that a coach in your mind?
Or was that --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I wasn't -- I don't think I sort to coach.
You know, I saw coach later on.
But my mom was a coach.
And I lived in that world.
So I didn't plan for that.
But in order to become a coach, I needed to go to university.
So that was the route.
Anne Millar
And you went to the University of Sussex first.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Correct.
Anne Millar
Yes. And was there an athletic scholarship to get you there?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I had a Jamaican government scholarship.
At that time, they used to give two scholarships every year to go to England to study.
So for my first -- in those days, you did your teacher certificate first.
And then you did your degree afterwards, whereas I think it's the other way around nowadays.
Anne Millar
Yes. It was before, I believe, you were required to get a degree.
Was that [inaudible]?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No, you're right.
You could just have your teacher certificate and teach.
Anne Millar
Yes. Yes.
And what was it like going to the University of Sussex at that time?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I saw that my parents had sent me to the middle of nowhere.
And you didn't have phones.
I was allowed to call home once a month.
So you check the mailbox every day.
And my mother was fantastic.
And it's something, a tradition started with her mother.
She would write me a letter every single week.
And her and her mom, for all her time she lived in Jamaica, which eventually was about 20 years,
wrote each other a letter every single week.
The Physical Education Department was 30 miles from the rest of the main university.
So we had about 300 in that department.
So that was nice because it was relatively small.
I was still swimming.
So I swam for the university.
And when I look back, having had that experience was tremendous for my growth as an individual,
you know, having to survive on my own.
Anne Millar
A big change.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It was.
It was. It was cold and wet.
And I also -- I think one of the hard things was I had to do teaching practice
in an English school, where my Jamaican accent and, you know, all of that
and then suddenly, you're put in the situation.
But I do think those really helped in my maturity.
And, you know, just learning how to deal with different types of people.
Anne Millar
What were the students like that you were teaching?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I actually taught in one of the schools for one of them that all royalty go to, which was --
Anne Millar
No pressure.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I know.
They call you madam.
And all the wealth of England went there.
And then I taught in what they called back then a comprehensive school,
which was the total opposite.
And then I had to teach sports I didn't know like lacrosse.
So I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it.
But I did actually do well on my assessments, so I guess it wasn't so bad as I thought it was.
And they also sent you to live with a family.
And you weren't actually allowed to go back to university.
So you were there for eight weeks.
And you had to, you know, get yourself integrated into the community there.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
And then the University of Michigan, was that pre-decided you would go there?
Or did you decide that after?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No, I just decided that it was time to go.
No, I didn't quite decide.
But at the end of three years in England, you then reapplied
for a fourth year to do your degree.
And I convinced my family that I would not get in, which was not true.
At the end, I didn't know at the time, because I was only one
of six people who actually got invited back.
But by then I had decided I was going back to Jamaica.
And I went back for a year and taught in a high school there for a year.
But in our family, it was expected that you had
to finish your degree, at least your first degree.
So I then started looking at the States and met a recruiter from Michigan.
And after a conversation with him, you know, it was decided that I would go there.
I always think I got the best of both worlds because the English side
of it focussed on teacher education.
And I then went on and did recreational management.
But the US program was a lot more science based.
So between the two, I really thought I did well in, you know --
Anne Millar
Getting this balance [inaudible].
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Exactly.
Anne Millar
Oh, wow.
And swimming -- at the University of Michigan, were you swimming there?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I wasn't swimming anymore.
So I volunteered as an assistant coach.
And Michigan has one of the top swimming programs in the US.
So that was also a great experience as well.
Anne Millar
It would have given you insight into [inaudible].
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I would have been -- I guess that was sort of the base probably
of me deciding that I would like to coach.
Anne Millar
Yes. Did you have any mentors in your higher education?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I would say that the first mentor was actually my high school phys-ed teacher,
because I actually went to the same college as her in England.
And she gave me some of her books that she had used.
So that would have been -- because I thought highly of her.
So I think that would have been the start.
At university, I can't think -- there was an education lecturer in England
who was doing multicultural education in England.
And so I would talk about my experience in Jamaica, and she was dealing with a lot
of immigrant children in her research.
So she found it quite interesting, my perspective on things.
And one of the things that I will say was that I had somebody in my group
who was actually the child of an immigrant family -- Jamaican.
And I used to get very annoyed because when we did projects, she would do them on Jamaica.
And she'd never been to Jamaica.
I would be like, she doesn't know anything about Jamaica.
What's she doing things on Jamaica for?
And then one day, the lecturer said to her, "Which cricket team do you support?"
Because the West Indies are a being force in cricket, and England is as well.
And she said -- she paused.
And she didn't know what to answer.
And for the first time, I thought she doesn't know where she belongs.
And as a Jamaican, I have a very strong sense of who I am.
And I really felt sorry for her.
And I see that in Canada as well of second generation who grew up in a family that is --
they live so much of the culture of Jamaica, but they're actually Canadian.
And, you know, that restarted [inaudible] perspective of people
and how fortunate I have been growing up where I was.
Anne Millar
Oh, wow.
You can feel that there'd be this tension internally for someone who's --
so that sounds like she almost was seeking out Jamaica.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Anne Millar
What is it like?
How can I learn more to understand my myself and experience?
Oh, interesting.
So you graduate from University of Michigan in 1983.
And you return to Jamaica as a physical education teacher.
Were you teaching a high school?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
In a high school.
And, you know, as a physical education teacher, you have to coach as well.
You know, you coach high school teams.
So I actually went back to the school I went to and taught there for 10 years.
And that was -- I became the head of the department.
And, you know, I did high school swimming.
I coached the team.
I coached badminton.
I also started playing badminton seriously about that time.
I guess after you've been swimming for years,
you have to find something else to take up all of the time.
So I went into play -- and my parents had played badminton as adults.
So I went quite seriously into playing that as well.
Anne Millar
Did you compete?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes, I did.
I represented Jamaica on a couple of occasions in that.
And badminton is a game that -- what's so wonderful is that you have all ages playing.
I mean, I'm trying to get back into it now here.
But when you play -- my mom who's 91 now, up until she was 89, was playing badminton.
And so that's -- you know, you have so many age ranges when you play socially like that.
Anne Millar
Oh, wow.
And that kept you involved in a sport.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Exactly. Yeah.
Anne Millar
That's amazing.
I'd love to know.
So from 1982 to 2012, you were the head coach for the Jamaican National Swim Team.
And you were their head coach for three Olympics,
I believe it was, in 2000, 2004 and 2008.
That is absolutely amazing.
So inspiring that I get to talk to someone who coached at that level.
Can you talk about how you became the head coach, your experience going
from a high school physical education teacher to the coach?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I always taught Learn to Swim from I was 13, and actually with the same person.
She had her own Learn to Swim program.
And I always worked with her in my summers initially.
And then when I went back to teach, I continued doing that twice a week.
And so we kept sending children from our Learn to Swim program to swim clubs.
And they kept complaining.
And then one summer, which would have been 1989, another friend of ours who had swam with me,
came -- her son was at that stage to move.
And I don't know.
We just started this conversation and said, why don't we start a swim club?
So we started a swim club with 10 swimmers, which eventually grew to 200.
And so I became a coach on the coaching scene in Jamaica.
So as my swimmers progressed and got to the stage where they were at the top
and making national teams, they look among the local coaches to see.
And that's really how I started.
Anne Millar
What do you think made you such a strong coach?
And how did you have this ability to grow this new swim team so quickly?
That's two questions, I suppose.
I guess, first, let's start with what makes you such a good coach.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I think because I have a holistic approach.
And it's not -- I'm not just there to coach you to be the fastest swimmer.
And I think you can become the fastest swimmer if the whole package is there.
So your nutrition, your mental health, the stories I've heard over the years, you know,
just being that person willing to listen.
And that's what coaching is about.
It's more than an individual.
I probably spend more time with some of my swimmers than their parents do.
And my gratification now, because my first set of swimmers are 40 now.
And how they have achieved in life, I feel like one,
maybe I had a little bit to do with where they are.
So I think that's where I have.
And even in my recruiting now, now that I'm older,
I can look at it from a mom perspective as well.
And my son had a fabulous career in terms of enjoyment.
And he did swim at the highest levels.
But when he talks about his swimming, it's with very pleasant memories of it.
So I guess that's -- and then my mom was such a great role model and things
that she did with her netball team.
You know, I'll give you an example.
The other day, I had all 45 of my swimmers over for a barbecue.
And I don't think anything of it.
And I posted a picture.
And my son says, oh, some things in life don't change.
And his memories of our swim club having the whole --
well, not the whole 200, but a lot of them over.
But my mom did the same with her netball teams.
So I grew up with them coming to the house because being part of our family,
because family is so important to us, that whole, you know, gets out to them
and creating the whole individual, I would say.
Anne Millar
So you were really at the forefront of that, though, in terms of athletics,
because often the emphasis is on getting results from the athlete.
Now they're talking more about the mental health of the athlete, making sure the athlete is,
as you said, this kind of holistic approach.
But it sounds like you were at the beginning of kind of or one of the pioneers of this.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I don't know about that.
But that's all I knew.
Anne Millar
That's all you knew.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah.
Anne Millar
Do you think that was this background you had in terms of family mattering
and community being so important?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes, I do.
And, you know, I grew up in a household that you were encouraged to bring your friends over.
And so our house -- which the family home is still there from I was eight.
And even when I go back now, it's -- my 91-year-old mom said last week --
I said, "We're coming at Christmas."
And she goes, "Oh, we can have a party."
I was like, okay.
All right.
And her version of party is just having people over.
But yes, yeah.
Anne Millar
Oh, that's beautiful.
That's a legacy, it sounds like, you're passing on to your family and your children.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I hope so.
I hope so.
Yeah.
Anne Millar
Is it similar in Canada?
Do you find you have the same community here?
Or is it harder to build a community when you move so far from home?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It's harder when you're older.
And that, I have, quite honestly struggled with since I've been here because, you know,
if I was younger, I think it would be easier to do.
But moving here older, people within my own age group are already set
in their sort of groupings already.
And in fact, my community here is a lot younger because my son got married to one
of the swimmers on the team at MAC who I coached.
And my community is actually a lot of those younger ones who come to my house every year
for a night, my swimmers who I coached at MAC.
And so -- and because of modern communication, my friends in Jamaica, we're in touch every day.
Anne Millar
Thank goodness.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. And I'm spoiled, so I get to go every few months because my mum is still there.
Anne Millar
That's lovely.
That's lovely.
Your field is just still very much male dominated.
How has that changed or potentially improved, I would hope,
improved over the course of your career?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes, it has improved, but it's still a long way to go.
And we see this.
So in fact, in Canada, for example, there are more women coaches coaching 14 and unders.
But as it goes up and you get more into the elite swimming,
it becomes -- the drop-off is tremendous.
And it's still very boys club.
And we see this even, you know, national coaches.
They're named recently in the Summer World Champs Team
without a female coach on the coaching staff.
And in fact, Kaylee Massey, who is the Canadian world record holder, her coach had been a woman.
And then at the last minute, they stuck Linda's name in.
So that still continues at the university level.
We have four of us in total.
And three are head coaches.
And one is, like, an associate coach.
So you know, when you go to -- I'm about to leave for a conference shortly.
And we'll see the differences there.
But for example, at this conference, we're going to have a women's luncheon.
And more conferences, you know, the big swimming coaching conferences now have that aspect.
But it still is a long way from equality and who they think of as a national coach first.
Anne Millar
Is that for women in swimming across --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
For actual swimmers, no.
Anne Millar
No. Sorry.
For female coaches across Canada?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah. Yeah.
So, you know, I got my position at Waterloo.
But I don't think they had many choices.
Anne Millar
Okay. I'd love to know a bit about that.
So first, I'm going to back you up to how you came to Canada, because you came to Canada,
I believe, partly due to your husband.
Is that correct?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. So my husband and I swam together, so I have a lot to thank swimming for.
And his family and ours became friendly swimming families.
And he came to the University of Waterloo when I went off to England and stayed.
Has worked -- works here now but had also had times not working here, but stayed in Waterloo.
Anne Millar
He returned to Waterloo.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Right. He's stayed in Waterloo.
I don't think he's moved out [inaudible].
Right.
Anne Millar
I don't know what it is about this city.
Everyone comes and stays.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
So -- but his family and my family remained very close.
And I was in Jamaica.
And I mean, it was that close that every Christmas Day, we would spend together.
And then, I don't know, 13 years ago, his parents had their 50th anniversary.
And he came for it.
He got married.
I got married.
We both got divorced.
And he came for their anniversary.
And then here am I, married to him and living in Canada.
So it's really nice because we've known each other from we were 10 years old.
And our -- he was actually my brother's best friend.
So I say it's quite incestuous.
But no. So he has two young men, and I have one.
So between us, we have three.
Anne Millar
That's beautiful.
And you said Canada was never on your Horizon?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Never. I even -- when I started, I had to go and read up on Canadian swimming so that I could
at least sound intelligent when I came here.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
And you came to Canada with a tremendous amount of experience.
And you were looking for a position?
Or did you already have a position when you arrived?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Well, I wasn't going to leave Jamaica till I had a position.
So, you know, I came, and I was looking.
And my -- we've had a few Jamaican Canadians swim on Jamaica teams who I had got to know
over time and said, you know, who do I go and talk to?
And this individual, Andrew Cole, who was the head coach at McMaster, and I really put as one
of my mentors and was very instrumental in me adjusting to life in Canada,
said he would have a meeting with me.
And little did I know when I met with him after we started talking --
and it was just one of those people that you just click with.
And he said, come down to the pool.
I have a practice.
And I said, okay.
And I got down there.
He said, hey, you know, this girl is not doing this right.
What do you think?
And little did I know that was my interview.
And when we finished that day, he said, I'm going to find a way to get you to Canada.
And that started my career as his assistant coach at McMaster University,
which was great because I had somebody who knew the system, who knew about --
because he had coached club, coached university, swam for Canada.
So he was there for two of my three years there.
And that was really a great stat.
Anne Millar
Really helped introduce you to swimming.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It did.
It did. And I can never thank him enough for that.
Anne Millar
So he would have been a many major mentor in terms of --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Major, major.
Anne Millar
And you were at McMaster for three years.
And then you were trying to make the move to Waterloo?
Or how did that opportunity come about?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Jeff -- because when I had first come, Jeff,
who was the head coach here, I had approached him.
But at the time he was here, they weren't going to have an assistant coach.
And then he decided to move to the Bahamas.
So he got in touch with me and said, hey, because he knew I lived in Waterloo,
I'm leaving, you know, so there's going to be a job opening.
So they only wanted to offer six months at the start.
And I said no, I'm not leaving my job.
And literally, I said, I'll send you my resume.
And I think that made the difference because a few weeks after, but it was very close
in September, I got this message.
Can we meet with you?
And, you know, bring Nigel along as well, you can.
And I thought who goes to an interview with their husband?
That was supposedly to try and convince me to take the job here because he worked here.
But yeah, that's how it started.
Anne Millar
So they certainly didn't know your background then when they were thinking of hiring you.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Initially.
Anne Millar
And then they got your resume and they said okay.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. So we didn't have a six-month contract after that.
Anne Millar
And what was your impression, I guess, of the university or of athletics
at Waterloo when you first arrived?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I'd come from McMaster, which, at that time,
I would say that their athletic department was more
of a high-performance type of department than Waterloo was.
And that has changed as time has gone on.
Rowley Webster, the Head of the Athletic Department, was here a year before I started.
And he really is a visionary.
So that has been super to work under somebody who supports programs and has a vision
of having high performance student athletes,
which I believe previously was not the environment here.
And I'll say, from my swim team, they came in -- they got in because of their academics.
And they happened to swim.
So then they said, okay, I'm going to continue my swimming career, which is so different now.
People come because they want to continue both sides.
They want to continue their athletic career.
And they want to go to academic, because we have something to sell.
So initially, I was a little bit frustrated because I came from MAC
where the student athlete -- the athlete part was a strong part.
And, you know, I came into this very different environment.
Staff wise, very friendly.
So I guess I have grown as Rowley's vision has grown as well.
And I've been allowed to do what pretty much I want to do, obviously,
with limitations, budget limitations.
But that has been really good for me.
Anne Millar
That's amazing.
So you really did get to work underneath him, but also alongside him then
in building athletics at his university.
How was that transition going from a national swimming team to varsity athletics?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I had to lower my expectations at the start because I came from swimmers
who were going to swim 10 times a week.
And life was built totally around swimming to somebody who's trying to balance two things.
And I had to learn to back off at times.
I had to learn to be able to give them the space to get their academic work done.
And I think I've gotten better at that now.
Anne Millar
That's a huge challenge for these young people to try to balance two things that,
as you said, could be almost a fulltime occupation, or let's take up their time.
Do you find the students struggle with that at a university that's perhaps kind of known
for being more intensive academically or certainly more competitive?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
They do.
And so -- I shouldn't say they struggle at the start.
So this is where the sort of holistic approach comes in.
So it's very important that I make them know that I understand what they're going through.
And I do understand it better.
You know, eight years, I've been in the system now.
And getting them to use the resources.
So for example, as a member of the Athletic Department, you get free tutoring.
So all they need to do is say, Jackie, I need help in this area.
And sort of within a few days, a tutor is arranged for them.
Using within our own team, the seniors to help out and to say, look,
I've made it through to fifth year.
So you can do it as well.
So that has got better.
But it is, for some of them, a struggle.
Anne Millar
So you said that more of these students are coming in.
They already have this love for swimming and want to continue.
How competitive is the tryout process at Waterloo?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
So I have an easy sport, because you either have the time or you don't have the time.
It's not like a football team or a sport like that.
I only have tryouts because I have to have tryouts.
Anne Millar
It's not competitive yet.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Because I've already decided who's going to be on the team.
Because for example, in swimming, Swim in Canada has a database that I have access to.
So I have everybody's time from they started swimming.
So I can track an individual and see how much they've been improving.
I can see what their times are.
And that really is what is going to dictate new coming in.
As the years have gone on, you know, I have had to get harsher and harsher in terms
of if you don't have the time -- I just don't have the space.
I have 50 right now on the team.
And we only have --
Anne Millar
That's pretty big.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah. And we only have a six-lane, 25-yard pool.
So I still haven't figured out the part about raising enough money to build a new pool.
Anne Millar
I guess that's one of my questions.
What does the swimming team need right now?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
A pool.
Seriously, that is a difference between us being with UBC and U of T who are the top
in Canada in university swimming.
Right now, that's the only difference, which is a big difference because we don't have a pool.
In terms of -- so for example, I book pool time over Laurier,
but then we're having to pay for that.
And yes, I can take us and I will take individuals higher.
But if we had more space, I could take in that first year who I think is going to be good,
but they haven't become -- got there yet.
And take -- which is what we were allowed to do at McMaster because they had the space,
whereas now I have to just say, no, you don't have the time.
I can't take you.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
So really, it would give you a larger opportunity to mentor some
of these young athletes if you had that physical space.
Where can we put it?
Where does it need to go?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No. It's in the plans.
It's in the plans.
They just don't have the money.
So the house space.
Anne Millar
Oh, that's good.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
But they don't have the money for it.
Anne Millar
Okay. Big fundraisers.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes, exactly.
Definitely.
Anne Millar
You talked a bit about how athletics has changed at the university.
I'm curious about the impact of the pandemic
on athletes recently and athletics at the university.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Our university in terms of swimming was the --
one of the most supportive universities in Canada and I can say for sure in Ontario.
When we swam at every opportunity that it was -- we were legally able to swim.
And for example, there was a list put out of what they call exceptions from us,
put out by swim Ontario, had all the health people give permission.
And we were the only university that opened for these swimmers.
And this was not a large number.
And we were also accommodating.
And we had Laurier come over.
So we would run a giant session with Kathy, who's the head coach over at Laurier.
And we would have practices for those swimmers.
Nobody else in Ontario.
The university actually provided that opportunity.
Did it have an impact?
Yes, because being -- in swimming, we have a saying.
If you miss a day of practice, it's like missing a week.
If you miss a weak, it's like missing a month.
So yes, we lost swimmers because, you know, you've been doing all of this.
And then all of a sudden, I was running what we call zoom dry land.
And every swimming coach hates zoom dry land because you're talking
to this screen that doesn't answer you.
And some have their cameras on.
Some don't have their cameras.
But that's, you know, how we were trying to maintain the contact with our athletes.
So we didn't lose some, because if they weren't in the pool for six months,
especially like fourth years, you're saying, why am I going to get back
in again, which I totally understood.
So yep, we did lose a few.
Anne Millar
So would have made your team a little bit younger.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. So it also gave me a chance to change the dynamics of my woman's team.
And I didn't take anybody because I wanted to revamp.
I took only one or two.
So it meant that this year, I got to take 15.
And it's been -- I don't know why.
I just turned out that I got 15 women who I wanted.
I've never had that happen before.
I don't know why.
And they all came.
So oh, boy, I've been enjoying this last couple of weeks.
We had our first meet last night against Guelph.
And we didn't beat Guelph, but we lost by 14.
But in the past, we were like a lot more than 14 behind.
It was just so great the atmosphere there and the team spirit.
Anne Millar
So they must have some energy to --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
They do.
They have tremendous energy.
And my fourth year was saying, gosh, this was so good last night.
And that's what team -- that's what makes team, this feeling that you belong to this team.
So then you want to perform not just for you, but for the team.
Anne Millar
That's beautiful.
I'd love to know the -- you said that athletics has changed at the university.
Do you feel it's prioritized by the administration by the university?
That's a controversial question, I know.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
We're getting better.
We're getting better.
So for example -- and this is just at my little level.
When we go to meet -- well, our OUAs, which is the Ontario Universities meet,
sometimes it clashes with midterms.
So I have to write to profs sometimes.
And there's things we do like invigilating at 11pm at night
because the prof was generous enough to give me the paper and have me sit and proctor it.
And then you have others who will say, oh, no, just put the --
put all the weight on your final.
And I think that's so wrong because you're putting them --
they're representing the University.
And it's putting so much pressure on them.
So we have less of that happening now than when I first started.
And in fact, who was one prof who started out like that, and I wrote him back.
And he was very good in the end because he came in on a Sunday to proctor himself
with the student, which was great.
But we still have a few who -- and the thing is that when their resume says
that they have some athletic representation on it, that helps them so much in the job market.
Anne Millar
Can you say in what ways it helps them?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Because they feel that this person is a balanced individual.
And I'll give you an example.
When I was at McMaster, one of the past swimmers was an executive with BMO Bank.
And he came to us and said, "I want to hire some of your swimmers."
I don't care what they're studying.
But because of their work ethic, I know we can teach them.
And so he had a couple of them for just summer work.
And then they went on to work in BMO.
So I guess that's my example of that.
Anne Millar
Yes. So in many ways, you have to be an advocate for your swimmers in terms
of their academics, but also in terms of, of course, their athletics.
This work that you've done, which was advocating for your swimmers, you've kind of transferred
into advocating for people all over the university.
I know you said you didn't intend necessarily to become an advocate to get involved
in antiracism work on campus, but I'd love to hear about how you became involved in that area.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
So coming from the Caribbean, we have a slightly different perspective.
And we -- I grew up in a black community.
That's the reality of life.
So when the George Floyd was happening, Rowley Webster, Athletic Director, calls me.
And I'm saying -- I see my phone.
And he's not my direct boss.
I'm like, why is the big boss calling me?
And I didn't know why.
And he was like Jackie, I just wanted to check in on you.
And for a moment, I was like, what is he talking about?
I'm okay. Then he started talking.
And I realized what he was talking about.
And in our department, three people of colour, three people who identify as black out of 60.
And so Sodiq, who comes from Africa, and DA who's [inaudible] Sodiq is a facility manager.
DA comes from the US.
So all three of us, very different backgrounds.
And we got together.
And then we started talking.
And I started thinking about the fact that I have three sons who are going to grow up here
in Canada and have their families here.
And then really started to think back on some things that have happened with me
in my lifetime, that my initial response is not because of colour,
but when I start to really look at things,
and then I started having conversations with the boys at home.
And Dominic, who swam at MAC, was telling me that he was a team captain.
When they had a swimming party, he knew that if the police came
to the door, he must not go to the door.
He was the only black person on the team.
And I had not realized that these subconscious things that you live with.
And so I thought, well, how can I change it?
How can I help change it?
And these two other individuals plus chief ally Rowley was willing
to let's get together and knock our heads.
And that's what we did.
We brainstormed.
And then we said, well, we need to get more people in the department involved.
And that's how the alliance was formed.
Anne Millar
And DA is Darrell Adams?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yes. Sorry.
Yes. Sodiq is Sodiq Sodiq.
I've learnt more recently.
We could talk about names from different places.
Anne Millar
Yes. It's always interesting what people are named and how [inaudible] can be said.
Yes. So you founded the alliance.
And that was -- was it 2021?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No. That would have been 2020.
Anne Millar
Twenty twenty.
Yeah. Initially, did you open it up to what kind of representation?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Anybody.
And we're still open to anybody.
We're primarily from the athletic department, because, of course,
that's who we can directly reach.
But it's students, staff, anybody.
Anne Millar
And does -- it must be amazing and inspiring to do.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It is. Yeah.
We have 30 members now, around in that 30 roll.
We'd like to increase our student representation.
And because, of course, some have graduated, so, you know, it changes.
Hearing other people's stories have been really interesting.
And I'm talking about the white members, how they felt about things, people of Asian descent.
You know, it's -- and what we've done is we have -- we had speakers come in at the start.
Some of the conversations are a bit uncomfortable.
I think what has helped is that the three of us are willing to talk and talk
about our own experiences to help give others the feeling that you can talk
about your experiences, and we're not going to judge you.
So we've had a number of speakers come in.
We've had outreach programs in the community.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
And for the students, have you had any students come tell you how important this has
been for them to have that role modelling or to have, I guess,
a community in a sense that they can feel safe in?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yep. Yep.
We have expression sessions, we call them, for students.
So we actually have one coming up.
But we've actually limited the number because we -- not that we ever had a huge number,
but with feedback from the students saying maybe if we only got a few of us together,
people would still feel more comfortable and able to talk.
So we have another one coming up.
And we can have in person ones.
So not Zoom anymore.
Anne Millar
Which will make a big difference.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Which will make a big difference.
Yeah.
Anne Millar
Because a lot of the work has been done within the context of physical restriction.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Exactly.
Anne Millar
Yes. The Annual Black Excellence Interviews,
are they through the alliance, or are they something separate?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
The Annual Black Excellence --
Anne Millar
Interviews.
They're online.
I found them.
A lot of YouTube videos.
And you interviewed some [inaudible].
I didn't know if it was through the alliance or if it was a separate initiative.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No, no, no.
That's through the Alliance.
So during Black History Month, we find people to highlight.
And then we felt it would be good for the three of us to actually do the interviews because,
you know, we understand their stories.
Anne Millar
That experience.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah. So that's an annual thing done during Black History Month in February.
So what's happening to us now is that, you know, during COVID, we had a lot more time as coaches.
And now it's like juggling all of your work plus doing this.
But I think we're figuring out ways to do that now.
Anne Millar
Because this kind of work could take up as much time as you would give it.
It's never ending.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Yeah.
Anne Millar
So how do you balance the need versus the time constraints?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah. So I think we just do few less things, which is the reality of life.
Anne Millar
Do you feel like you're having an impact?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
On my [inaudible] program, yes, which we haven't talked about.
Anne Millar
No, that's next.
I understand from speaking with other people who do advocacy work
that it can feel very draining and very lonely and isolating.
And so how do you find the -- I guess, the inspiration to keep pushing forward
and doing work that you know matters, but that can be, I would,
think demoralizing or frustrating?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
By having individuals around you.
So since all of this sort of happened, the diversity in the department has increased.
And on my own swim team, I have a swimmer from St. Lucia who leads a lot of the student side,
Jesse Daniel, and has certainly grown since I've been doing this.
So there are people you can talk to.
So even I know with Jesse now, he will come to me to throw ideas.
And I use him to throw ideas.
And then more recently, Karen Brown.
She came to her master's here and started as an assistant coach.
She's from Antigua.
And her -- she's just been appointed the aquatics coordinator.
So she's, you know, another person that I can throw ideas against.
And my husband.
And he does a lot of his own work because he's part.
So, you know, at home, we will toss ideas.
Anne Millar
Oh, that's good.
You feel like you have some support, a network to work through.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Yeah.
Anne Millar
And the university, how supportive do you feel the university has been?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Always in my department very supportive.
And really has an open-door policy.
So you know, you can always go in to him.
Anne Millar
That's nice.
So I'd love to talk about your Learn to Swim program,
because I know how passionate you are about it.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
That's like the most important thing to talk -- no, it's not.
Anne Millar
So you founded the program and you run it at the University of Waterloo.
Can you talk about its history and inception?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
So with the Alliance, we wanted to do community outreach.
That is part of our mandate.
So we started actually by -- Sodiq does work with Adventure for Change,
which is a community organization, which I think a lot of their focus is
on the Sunnydale community, which is not far from here.
A lot of immigrant families live there.
So Sodiq said, well, there's Adventure for Change.
And they're always looking for programs and new things.
So we actually had a group come in from there to visit University.
And we did a tour of the university but with stations with different varsity athletes.
So they stopped at a station.
And we had like -- it was a one on two sort of chat with varsity athletes.
How did they get here?
What do they do?
This type of thing.
So that was one of our first initiatives.
I've always wanted to do a Learn to Swim program all my life.
That's one of my all my life things.
For people who couldn't afford to learn to swim --
swimming is such an important skill, life skill.
And I have been fortunate.
You know, I can't really remember much time when I couldn't swim.
And how do we -- you know, how could I do this?
And I never ever had the funding to do it.
And with the Alliance and everybody's encouragement, you know, Rose said,
you can apply for a grant, blah, blah, blah.
And I thought my swim team needs to do something
to realize how fortunate they are, being able to swim.
So that's how it started.
And we linked with Adventure for Change, which has been good
because they have taken away the responsibility of finding the individuals.
They do all the registration for us, all the forms.
So literally, we just have to organize the swimming part of it.
So we started in May.
It should have started during the pandemic.
And started with 48.
There was not a plan to have women and girls only.
I had said we'd have one class.
And Adventure for Change had said -- you know, then when the registration started,
they had 48 women and girls who wanted to do it, because there's so little offered
in the community for women and girls, their sewing class
and things like that, but not sport.
Many of these women come from situations in countries where they're not educated.
Their only role was in the house and to have children.
And they never did anything for themselves.
And I've learnt all of this after eight weeks of teaching and driving on the bus with them.
So that's -- so I said, okay, we'll just offer women and girls.
And you know, we'll offer an environment that the pool is closed off and an all-female staff.
So we started in the summer.
I don't think there's much in life I have done that gave me such a feeling of fulfillment
when they came in for their classes.
There's an energy in the air, with the -- because take them seven to whatever.
But the kids, when they came in, I mean, the first day, I was a little bit nervous
because I thought, oh, god, they're going to jump in.
So I had to put on my best Jamaican hat of, you know, this is how we're doing it.
But the mums who, on the first week, getting them in the water was --
they wanted to, but fear was leading.
You know, climbing down the steps was a big thing to them.
To at the end of eight weeks, pushing off the bottom and kicking five metres.
And I have a video -- which I'll never be able to show, and it's sad,
because I cried when I saw it -- of one of the moms.
And it was her first time ever just getting her feet off the bottom.
And she -- when she did it, her arms were raised.
I sent it to her.
And I promised her I'd delete it, which I did.
It was just total -- she said to me after, "I've never done anything like this for myself."
So that -- you know, and we paid instructors in the summer
because we just didn't have the volume of swimmers here in the summer.
So we're about to start with the swim team doing it next week.
And they'll teach four people.
Each one of them, they have to volunteer twice for the term.
And now we're adding a men and boys class.
So we actually -- we're taking back the same set of women we had
in the summer to continue on with them.
And then we're bringing in men and boys.
Anne Millar
That's amazing.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
So yeah, you know.
But it's not me alone.
It's been everybody because now I have a couple of my students.
They -- I'm handing over slowly to them.
But this is all preparation for life, because learning how to organize things --
no matter what field of work you go into, you're going to have to organize people at some point,
unless you're going to be the little man in your computer room.
You're going to have to learn to interact with different people.
The world is changing.
And you don't know where you're going to live when you're young.
Look at me.
I didn't know I'd live in Canada.
Anne Millar
Wow. So you've then seen the impact already on some of your swimmers,
how this program has, I'm sure, inspired them.
And what are your hopes for, I guess, this next group of swimmers
that gets to do this volunteer work?
What would you like them to take away from the experience?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I'd like them to understand the -- I don't like the word 'privilege.'
I'm trying to think of another word.
The opportunities that they have had in life.
And that -- the other day I was talking about experience I had on the road
when I was a student in New Jersey of a man approaching me when I was at a bus station
who I didn't know and coming and standing like this, and another man who I did not know,
walk up to me and say, "Do you know this man?"
No. And he said, okay, you're with me.
And he pulled me away and stood with me until the bus came
and then made sure I got on the bus.
And when he also got on the bus but made no attempt to sit with me.
But humanity is good, still.
And I want them to learn that somebody might help you in life.
So you'll be willing to help others in life.
And you learn so much when you help other people.
Anne Millar
You said you don't like the word privilege.
Can I push you on that a little bit and ask why?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Because I think it's an overused word nowadays.
And, you know, we're all -- you know, there's privilege in everything.
I shouldn't say we're all privileged.
We're not all privileged, you know, but I just think it's overused.
Anne Millar
Yes. And of course, when you're talking about antiracism, yeah,
we talk a lot about white privilege and trying to get people
to accept kind of coming from that.
So do you think that's something that's hard for people to accept,
or they don't like the term, or there's --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
To accept that they have privilege?
Anne Millar
Yeah. Because [inaudible] the word opportunity.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Yeah. I don't think they realize they have privilege.
I know I'm privileged.
I got to grow up in an environment where I learnt to swim, where I had role models
that you didn't accept -- just because it was like it was, you didn't accept it.
So I was -- and in fact, that's -- you know, I had a sort of privilege to being in that.
I just don't think some people realize what they have
because they live in their own little world.
And they never come out of it.
Anne Millar
Especially living in a country like Canada where we have so much.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
You have -- and you could live -- you could live in Waterloo.
So when I take my swimmers to Jamaica, as I have for training camp, and I took McMaster twice
to Jamaica, and we have the local swimmers,
probably between the ages of 13 and 18, swim with us.
But then our students have to tutor them.
And for them, having to now teach a high school kid means you have to come
out of your comfort zone a little bit as well.
And that's one of my big sayings to them.
Come out of your comfort zone.
Do something that you feel uncomfortable doing, and you will grow from that.
So yeah, we do that.
And you know, some of those friendships have actually stayed.
One of the boys from Jamaica just wrote me the other day.
And, you know, I know -- and they follow each other now on Instagram.
If we had more scholarship money, I would have some.
But we don't.
Anne Millar
Is that something the swim team needs, then, more scholarship money?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
We definitely need more -- for the men more so than the woman.
And I'll tell you why.
Because equal money in the Athletic Department, scholarship wise,
has to be given to men and women.
And we have a large football team.
Then they have to find women's teams to give scholarship money to.
So I benefit from that.
But in my men's team, we're really dependant on alumni who have given scholarship money.
And that's something down the road that we will need to work on,
because obviously if you have scholarship money, you attract more people.
Anne Millar
Yes. Yes.
Does that feel fair to you that it can go to just one sport and not another?
Or should it be evenly distributed amongst sports?
Or what's the solution?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It's a lot of alumni donations.
And I think I've reached the stage in life where the reality is that football brings in money.
So there's no point me beating my head against the wall.
And that comes back to society.
And men give money.
So in a relationship of a husband and a wife, a man is more likely to give back
to his university than a woman is.
And maybe over time as women have more equal job opportunities, that will change.
But that is definitely -- if you check out families and who gives back from sport,
nine times out of 10, it's the man giving back.
Anne Millar
Oh, interesting.
And then of course, they would have an opinion about how the funds would be allocated.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
You give to a team.
You give to a specific team.
Anne Millar
Oh, interesting.
Wow. I'm digesting because it's so much that you said.
It's so important.
So I've just wanted to return a little bit
to the interviews you've done for Black History Month.
Now how important do you believe those stories are to be told?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Oh, I think they're very important because listening to some of them -- so --
and I don't really want to generalize.
But the average black high school student in Canada, unless they have a family
that is really pushing further education, many times, they're going to be sidelined
into trade, something else like that.
So when we have students here who have managed to get into the University of Waterloo
and to be doing a sport, I think it's important
that we hear what their story was in high school.
Well, not only in high school, but their story in life.
Anne Millar
That led them to where they --
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
That led them to where they are.
And many of them have had difficult roads.
Sunday, I was at -- my husband heads the scholarship committee
for the Caribbean Association here.
And they were honouring -- I think they gave 10 scholarships this year
to black of Caribbean descent.
And just hearing some of those children talking about their stories --
and this is university level scholarships.
You realize that the road is not always smooth to get there.
So I think when we do interviews, it's interesting to hear the stories.
Anne Millar
And the potential impact of those stories, as you said, to inspire future generations.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
And to inspire other students within our own university,
you know, that this person is doing this.
I can do this.
And I mean, some of the interviews have been with people who have been
to university here and now work at the university.
So they've gone through, and they can see things from a different light now.
Anne Millar
Yes, different perspective.
Oh, that's amazing.
So I'd love to go back a little bit to swimming before I move on to kind
of just the University of Waterloo more in general.
But you've talked about the confidence that it can give to people
and the importance of having a sport.
What is it about swimming in particular that really encourages people to --
I guess, to push through barriers or to try harder?
It seems to be such an inspiring sport for so many.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
If you get, I would say, to 14 years old, and you're swimming, you're having to swim,
if you're going to be any good, six, seven, eight, nine times a week.
And it's an individual sport, which you're not dependant on other people.
You are dependant, but when you get into a race, you're not dependant
on somebody else throwing the ball to you at the right time.
It's your performance in the pool.
And there's a lot of people who are self-driven.
And you have to be self-driven to swim up and down that black line.
So I think also the camaraderie within the group of people who are similar
because they are willing to do this really helps to motivate you.
So you're in a like thinking group of people.
So --
Anne Millar
It's real community that gets built up.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It is. It is.
And especially at the university level.
Anne Millar
Yes. So you have students, I'm sure, who are in engineering kind of all the way
across the spectrum academically.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I have 70% of my team in engineering, which is --
Anne Millar
Well, that would be, I would think, a unique challenge for Waterloo swim team.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It is. It is.
It is.
Say, for example, with the first years, their scheduled classes is
like 8:30 to 4:30 pretty much every day.
So that's why I have to have practices from six to eight every day,
because there's no other time that we're able to get in the pool.
And then if they're not in engineering, they're in math or computer science.
But I'm very proud to say we have a 83.5% team average and that they probably have --
I can't think of another team that has as many training hours as we do.
So yeah.
Anne Millar
That's amazing.
So we're talking a lot of the University of Waterloo right now about Waterloo's centennial.
So when it turns 100.
It's a little ways away in 2057, but we're preparing early.
I'm curious of what you would hope to see for the institution at its centennial.
So in 30, what is it, 30-something years, I always have to count, 35 years.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Okay. Well, I wouldn't even try.
What would I like to see?
I would like to see us with a more diverse community.
And when I say diverse, I'd like to see more students taking part
in more things within the university.
I'm a strong believer that when you go to university, you must do something.
And it doesn't have to be a sport.
But be involved.
Don't just come in the doors and go to class every day and go back home.
Because when I see how the alumni say of the swim team who come by and the friends
that they have, who are the same people who are at university with them,
I think that's such -- you know, they're so rounded.
And I'd like to see more of that.
And we have such a great academic reputation.
Can we expand to include some of these things as being as important?
Anne Millar
These extracurriculars.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Extracurricular.
Yeah. Because I still think there's a lot of students who only come to school
and go to class and go home again.
Anne Millar
So really, in terms of building community, you would see that as essential.
Yes. And in terms of athletics, specifically, where would you want it to be in 35 years?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Well, they'd have to have a swimming pool.
Anne Millar
Swimming pool.
Another one.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
It's going to need more funding but being able to offer full staffing.
And that's something that I've been able to have grow since I've been here.
So I have my athletic therapist.
I have four assistant coaches.
They're volunteers, but I couldn't manage without them.
Strength and conditioning has taken over my program.
This year, the head of it, under half, and he's now running that side, whereas before,
it was under his supervision, but now he's directly running it.
So not just for my sport, but I know the difference it has made in the swimming.
That's why our swimming has got better because of the support staff.
So if other sports had that, I know that the diversity from an athletic point
of view has definitely been worked on.
And I see little changes happening within the department.
So yeah, I think that would be it.
Anne Millar
That's great.
How important do you believe that your stories are told, that your stories --
stories about people at Waterloo at the university
and within the wider community as well?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Everybody has a story.
And I just have been here long enough to have a longer story.
And everybody's story to me is interesting because I can learn from you.
You know, whoever you come across, they're going to have something that every one
of us can take away from the people that we interact with.
So hearing somebody's story just might be I heard that story out there.
And I say, oh, maybe I could do that.
And I'll come back to what -- my swimmers -- and it's funny.
My daughter-in-law says to me all the time.
She says, "I went out of my comfort zone."
And I did a thing with them when I was coaching her
that I didn't even remember that had such an impact.
But now she says it to me.
I did this out of my comfort zone.
And it gives me the strength to feel --
and even with her now, she inspires me when I see her doing things as a coach.
And she's a young swim coach.
And I learnt from her.
And I think well, if she can do that, I can get up and do it.
Anne Millar
That's beautiful.
Is there anyone you would recommend that we talk to for this project?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
I would like to hear -- and I think he'd be very open --
Rowley Webster's story because I think he has made so much change in athletics
that it would be really interesting to see what he thought.
Anne Millar
To see what he thought and why he did.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Exactly.
Yeah.
Anne Millar
Do you have any final thoughts, anything we didn't cover or discuss?
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
You've been so good at making it easy to do.
Anne Millar
You're very inspiring.
So I really appreciate you sharing your story.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Thank you.
And you can cut this out.
I've done quite a few interviews in my time because of my sport in Jamaica.
But I give you kudos for your questions.
Anne Millar
Thank you.
I really appreciate your honest answers and just your willingness to discuss and talk
about some issues that can be hard as well.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
No, I think [inaudible].
Anne Millar
Thank you so very much.
Thank you, Jacky.
Thank you for being with us today.
Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Thank you.

In collections

The University of Waterloo Oral History Pilot

Details

Title: Interview with Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Abstract: An audio-visual recording of an interview conducted by Dr. Anne Millar with Jacky Beckford-Henriques, Swimming Head Coach, Athletics at the University of Waterloo, for the Oral History Hub pilot project. The interview includes discussions about Beckford-Henriques's family background, their decision to come to Waterloo and the path that brought them here, as well as their thoughts about the institution and where it will be at 100 years old, in 2057. Additional topics include immigration, Jamaica, coaching, Olympics, Jamaican National Swim Team, Learn to Swim, Swim Canada, Ontario University Athletics, university sport and swimming, Roly Webster, advocacy, anti-racism, George Floyd, Darrell Adams, Sadiq Sadiq, The Alliance, Black History Month, Black Excellence Interviews, diversity, Adventure for Change, and donors. The interview was conducted in-person in Waterloo, Ontario.
Fonds: University of Waterloo Oral History Hub Pilot
Identifier: UWA-2-2022-16-6
Interviewer: Anne Millar
Interviewee: Jacky Beckford-Henriques
Date Created: 2022-09-27
Extent: 1 mp4 file (1 hr., 17 min.)
Genre: Sound
Language: English
Usage Rights: Copyright University of Waterloo Archives . Copying or storing any content from this collection is expressly prohibited without prior permission from the University of Waterloo Archives.
Preferred Citation: University of Waterloo Archives. University of Waterloo Oral History Hub pilot interviews. Interview with Jacky Beckford-Henriques, September 27, 2022. UWA-2-2022-16-6.