For Melanie Talastas-Soriano (BA 05, CAT(C)), life is about opportunities and embracing what comes your way.
Melanie came to Canada as a young girl from the Philippines. When she started grade seven at a Winnipeg north end school, she took every opportunity to try the various sports offered. Before long, it was basketball that captivated her and had her shooting for the big league.
As a teenager, Melanie played for the St. John’s Tigers and Team Manitoba. While playing for the provincial team, she met former Wesmen head coach Tanya McKay. Coach McKay saw Melanie’s talent and offered her a spot to play for the Wesmen.
“First and foremost, it was about the basketball,” said Melanie. “You don’t often get opportunities to play university ball coming from the north end. And I was the shortest person at five feet five inches.”
Melanie played point guard for the Wesmen women’s basketball program from 2001 to 2006. For Melanie, playing basketball was about hard work, discipline, and grit. “Being a student-athlete is very challenging, but also very rewarding,” said Melanie. “I learned how to manage my time, make goals, work hard, work smart. Going to university is not easy.”
As a player, Melanie travelled across Canada with her team. She appeared in two championships finals and earned four medals. At the same time, Melanie also worked hard to earn her degree. The heavy training schedule, combined with lectures and labs, made for a busy student life. “I pretty much lived in the university, and in the locker room.”
Melanie as a Wesmen for the Women’s Basketball Program (2001 – 2006)
From the start, Melanie did not have a clear academic plan. When she saw a bulletin board advertising athletic therapy, she decided to sign up. “Because I was part of the basketball team, we had someone who helped us pick our courses. This was great for me as a first-year student.”
Melanie graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Applied Health. Using her major in Athletic Therapy, Melanie completed the national exam. For over 20 years, Melanie has been working as a certified athletic therapist.
The experiences both on and off the basketball court helped Melanie develop a strong work ethic and holistic understanding of athletic therapy. “The UWinnipeg program was a good fit for me,” said Melanie. “I am a visual learner. So having the applied portion of the course worked well for me as a student. I experienced athletic therapy as a Wesmen athlete, then a practicing athletic therapist.”
Melanie said working at the Bill Wedlake Fitness Centre as a customer service representative also prepared her for a career in athletic therapy. “Being an athletic therapist, you have to learn how to talk to people and build rapport. Working at the fitness centre was another way the university helped me with my training.”
Today, Melanie is the owner of her private athletic therapy practice, Insahyu. “I started the business from scratch. I am learning as I go, it’s the story of my life. You don’t know everything until you want to learn it. But for me there is always that root, the thing that I’m passionate about, and that’s athletic therapy.”
Melanie’s practice includes athletic therapists and massage therapists. Incidentally, all her staff are UWinnipeg trained. “It was not intentional to hire all UWinnipeg therapists,” said Melanie. “It’s cool because we all went through the same program. Even the massage therapists are all athletic therapy trained. This makes it very easy for me as a business owner to communicate with my staff. But again, it was not intentional. With the basketball and athletic therapy in school, there was a lot of discipline and work ethic. My philosophy is to lead by example. I take every opportunity and embrace whatever comes my way.”
