My name is Ireland Cowan (She/Her), I am 18 years old and come from a family of six. I have lived on the same farm for my entire life in Carievale, Saskatchewan. I came from the small town of Carievale, that meant that I went to one school from kindergarten to grade eight then moved to Carnduff school for my high school years. My mom has always been a teacher, teaching different grades from elementary to high school. Having this influence on my life is one of the major reasons I chose a career path in elementary education. I am the oldest of my four siblings, two sisters and a brother. When my brother was a couple weeks old, he was diagnosed with transposition of the great arteries, resulting in a numerous amount of open-heart surgeries. This led to a chaotic life for a few years.

               

Our family owns a lake house at Lake Metigoshe in North Dakota. With my mom being a teacher and having the summers off we have spent the past seven summers living there from June until school starts in the fall. I got heavily involved in the lake’s ski team, going from being just another team member to being president and holding executive positions for the past five years. The team is made up of both Canadian and American skiers since the lake is on international waters. A majority of my time and weekends is spent with the club but with the border being closed it has been different. I recently tried out and made Team Canada to ski with them this coming summer and train for the 2022 worlds.

 

I found a love for teaching through my skiing. From putting on ski schools and setting up and volunteering at adaptive ski clinics I realized that I love helping and teaching others new skills and seeing the joy that such things can bring to someone. I would love to continue to see this joy on faces for years to come.