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University of Toronto Athletics

Mikayla Ford

Women's Soccer

STUDENT-ATHLETE STORIES: FORD EXCELLING ON THE FIELD AND IN THE FOREST

(Pictured above: Mikayla Ford doing field work in the Humber River | Photo courtesy of Mikayla Ford)

Each Thursday, varsityblues.ca will highlight a U of T student-athlete and their academic pursuits. Each of these students achieved first class honours with an AGPA of at least 3.50 in the previous academic year.  These are our Student-Athlete Stories.

Unlike a lot of students, Mikayla Ford had established her academic path at a very young age, but a first-year class at the University of Toronto fine-tuned her area of interest.

"I took general life sciences in first year, but after taking an environment course I decided to go into environmental sciences," said the fourth-year University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer defender. "I always knew I would do conservation biology though. It has been an interest of mine since I was little."

The Markham, Ont., native, who is also completing a minor in forestry, credits the first-year course 'introduction to environmental studies' with steering her towards an environmental science major.

"It opened my eyes to how interconnected environmental issues are with everything else that is going on in our society," she said. "For me that really struck a cord because a lot of our actions and lifestyle choices, although unintentional, can contribute to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and waste. It not only affects us, but people and environments on the other side of the world, local and global wildlife, natural earth systems and more."
Mikayla Ford
(Ford and the Blues taking on the Laurentian Voyageurs at Varsity Stadium | Photo by Seyran Mammadov)
 
Ford, who was named a 2019-20 U SPORTS academic all-Canadian, enjoys the fieldwork that she has experienced through her course work.
 
"My favourite field trip so far has been in one class, ENV316, where we went to the Humber River and got to take samples of fish, benthic invertebrates and measure various aspects of the water, like flow speed and depth," she said. "I just find that stuff so fun!"
 
When she's not on the field or in the classroom, Ford volunteers as the treasurer for the Environmental Students' Union and with the City of Toronto's community stewardship program.
 
Mikayla Ford
(Ford plants a tree in Newberry Park in Richmond Hill during her placement with Ontario Streams | Photo by Ontario Streams staff)
 
She credits a busy schedule, which is even busier during the Varsity fall soccer season, with her academic success.
 
"I honestly find it easier to balance academics during the season," she said. "There is so little time that any free time I have, I am able to fully focus on my work, which allows me to be more productive. Over the years, I have gotten pretty good at doing work on bus rides and in hotels so that has also been a big help."
 
Those bus rides also turned into plane rides last fall as Ford helped the Varsity Blues women's soccer team to a program-best bronze-medal finish at the U SPORTS national championship in Victoria, B.C. When she wraps up her U of T undergrad, Ford is also thinking about some future travel across the pond.
 
"I think I want to pursue my Master's in something related to conservation biology or ecology," she said. "There are a lot of programs out there in similar or related areas so it's been hard to pin point the right one. I'd love to study abroad though, so I've been mostly looking at programs in Europe."
 
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