The OUA Amplifying Voices Series will share the stories, the efforts, and the impacts of the OUA's champions of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), from those who have earned conference awards within their respective sport to those who continue to make a difference within their team, their campus, and their community.
Mikhail Nembhard is a man with opinions and ideas. Not because he wants to be heard, but because he believes action can create societal change. The 23-year-old native of Toronto graciously uses his platform as a member of the Ottawa Gee-Gees football program to connect with youth throughout the nation's capital.
And he's a natural.
Last summer, Nembhard volunteered to speak at a local Black Youth Forum held at the uOttawa campus. He was tasked with creating a discussion about leadership for high-school students. Nembhard had plenty to say.
"I got the kids to draw who they thought was a good leader and role model," says the fifth-year human kinetics student and Gee-Gees defensive back. "They had to explain what they thought the characteristics of leadership were. One by one, they shared their thoughts. We wrote the word 'leader' inside of a tree on a piece of paper and created branches with their ideas of the important characteristics.
"Then I told them that they could all be leaders. At their schools, at home in their daily lives, just based on how they conducted themselves."
Messaging is important to Nembhard. And his talk at the Black Youth Forum was one of many examples of how he gives back and to empower others. His tireless work at uOttawa earned him the Bernie Custis Champion of EDI Award at the year-end OUA Football Awards ceremony last November in Hamilton.
Nembhard comes by his selfless traits honestly. His father Greg is the National Director of Salvation Army Canada. And Nembhard's mother Cheryl is a missionary who travels around the globe to third-world countries, working on food and housing projects for those in dire need.
"We were always surrounded by the idea of giving," Nembhard says of the environment he, his older brother Malik, and older sister Mikayla were raised in. "What my parents have done in their lives has really shaped me into who I am. We would always hear these stories, and my mom would show us videos of the progress they made on her projects.
"It was just amazing to see."
Nembhard admits he was a little shy when he first arrived in Ottawa. He was, however, excited that the school provided him with many things he valued – expanding his love of human kinetics (which came from a cousin who ran NCAA track), an opportunity to play varsity football, and the chance to improve his French. Joining the Black Student-Athlete Advocacy Council was one of his first steps. It was apparent that there were several opportunities for Nembhard to get to work outside of the classroom and off the football field because the group was so connected local organizations. Nembhard learned that there was a growing population of underserved and marginalized youth that needed support. So, he put the shyness aside.
"I had a passion about it," says Nembhard, BSAAC's current Marketing Officer. "And I definitely want to leave a lasting impact in my time here."
Community work has been a critical part of his life these last few years, while football, unfortunately, had to be put on hold. Nembhard tore the labrum in each of his shoulders in consecutive seasons. But the injuries have only inspired him to do more.
Nembhard was involved in an academic internship when he went through his labrum surgery. While recovering, he helped rehab an individual with the exact same injury. That combination of a human kinetics education and experience with the same physical setback was the perfect combination to get the client on the road to recovery.
It also gave Nembhard some clarity.
"I can teach something, because I've been through it and I understand your perspective," he says. "That was cool to realize."
That also applies to his work in EDI. Nembhard has one mode on that front – to keep moving forward. It requires drive, but also organization. He says detailed notes and immediate calendar updates are essential, or nothing gets done.
One of his most influential initiatives was developing a youth sports program at the local Lowertown Community Resource Centre to provide opportunities for kids with barriers to participation. The emphasis was on teamwork, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle choices.
"The goal was to get them moving, stretching, and focusing on taking care of their bodies before and after sports," says Nembhard. "I created a program and catered it to the different age groups. Some of the kids were so young and have a little trouble focusing. And the older ones, some of them think they're to cool to do certain things.
"It was awesome. You see that transformation in a kid who doesn't really talk to anyone and then completely opens up and makes friends when they play sport."
There were some tough goodbyes, especially for one little six-year-old participant, who had tears in her eyes on Nembhard's last day. But the joy always outweighs the heartache. It energizes him and helps provide the stamina needed to tackle multiple projects, while balancing academic and athletic commitments.
Nembhard has devoted time to work on the Black Excellence Gala at the university and the Ottawa Black Grad Committee, while also helping design and execute BSAAC Connect, a community-based initiative emphasizing mentorship, inclusion, and empowerment. He has also worked with the Carleton Rehabilitation Centre, concentrating on learning return-to-play principles from the professionals on site.
Some of his most important work to date has been assisting with the creation of a BIPOC student-athlete scholarship that provides both opportunity and representation in university athletics. The leadership traits that Nembhard talks about to Ottawa's youth was on full display throughout that process. And the most special aspect of that endowment to him is the legacy it leaves.
"We managed to raise $30,000, which was enough to have it endowed forever," Nembhard says. "We created something that is continuous and will last for years long after we're gone from the university.
"That was really big for our group,"