Laurier Grads Soar is a multi-part series that returns for it's third installment during the 2018-19 season. The segment features former Wilfrid Laurier University athletes and student-leaders in the Athletics and Recreation Department, and the success they have enjoyed since leaving Laurier. Written by award-winning journalist David Grossman, different features will be released throughout the year that will emphasize the role Athletics and Recreation played in helping them achieve success.

Christina Polano: Toronto lawyer

Christina Polano went to Wilfrid Laurier University to learn, earn a degree, focus on a career and, throughout those special years, get to meet new friends and benefit from a campus atmosphere.

As a Laurier athlete, Polano remembers the Golden Hawks were involved in plenty of challenges and rivalries. When she wasn't competing on the Laurier swim team or part of the barrage of inspiring rallies on the cheerleading squad, the academic load was enough to keep her focused on studies – and more studies.

Little did she know that some of her university days would also involve reading children's books – including many from writer, and cartoonist, Theodor Geisel, who went by the pen name of Dr. Seuss.

Something very rewarding, during those years at Laurier, that an eloquent and enthusiastic Polano remembers very well, had a huge personal impact leaving her entrenched and, others, overwhelmed.

It had to do with her volunteer work, as a member of Laurier for Literacy, a service aimed at helping children, throughout the community, with reading and writing as well as giving them a huge boost of confidence.

“Parents would drop their kids off at Laurier, and I would read to kids on weekends,” recalled Polano. “For me, it was very important and you knew you were making a meaningful difference in the lives of these young kids.”

An assortment of Dr. Seuss books for pre-schoolers were among her favorites, and Polano would later continue her voluntary work at the YMCA daycare when she studied law in London, Ont. Fast forward, married and with her own family, Polano returned to those cherished books, but this time reading them to her two children, when they were younger.

Now, a lawyer with a tough work schedule and family commitments, Polano is still enthusiastic about helping, and is involved in a variety of community fundraising events sponsored by the ALS Society of Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society.

“You pick causes that might have a special personal meaning, and you just make time to volunteer and help,” she said. “It means a great deal to me and, looking back, Laurier has had a big spot in my heart.

“One of the best things (about Laurier) was that you not only had the ability to be a good student, but also to be involved in activities, have fun and contribute to society in a positive way.”

Growing up in Sudbury, Polano was a multi-sport athlete while attending high school at Marymount. Not an Olympic-bound athlete by her own admission, for Polano it was, along with being a student graduating with academic honors, a chance to get involved. Interest in the legal world may have started from an intriguing high school law course.

“I was always one that looked to benefit from being a team member – that was important to me back then, and is in my work today,” she said. 

As for choosing Laurier, she remembers the five-hour vehicle trip, with her mother, from the serenity of dozens of lakes and the small rocky mountains of the Canadian Shield, to check out the Waterloo campus.

“Laurier had, and still has, this strong reputation for academics and that appealed to me,” said Polano. “But, there was more. I was from a small city and it was a small school. You just didn't get lost. There was this sense of engagement right away. Right then, Laurier became my top choice.”

In the classroom, Polano earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, and spent two years on each of the swim and cheerleading teams. In the pool, her specialties were the 50-and 100-metre freestyle events. She also competed in the Nationals while on the cheerleading squad.

For the past 16 years, Polano has practiced law in Toronto specializing in insurance litigation, sex assault civil and liability cases.
 
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David Grossman is a multi award-winning communicator and storyteller with a distinguished career in Broadcasting, Journalism and Public Relations in Sport and Government Relations

Previous Features
Steve Griggs - Chief Executive Officer and President, Tampa Bay Lightning
Sophie Kotsopoulos - Senior Director of Integrated Marketing, National Hockey League
Mike McKenna - Former Director, Telecom, Media and Technology Investment Banking
Nicole Lee - Director of Integrated Marketing, National Hockey League
Mike Bartlett - Executive Director, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Foundation
Rebecca Watts - Manager, 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship
Hugh Lawson - Director of Business Development, Staples Promotional Products
Cheryl Pounder - Former Canadian National Women's Hockey Team Member
John Morris - 2010 Olympic Men's Curling Gold Medalist
Bill Burke - Chief Executive Officer and Owner, Niagara Ice Dogs
Tania Pedron - Manager of Administration and Operations, Maple Leafs Sport and Entertainment
Wayne Kemick - BMO Wealth Advisor
Denise Burke - President, Niagara Ice Dogs
Kevin McDonald - Vice President of Football Operations and Player Safety, CFL
Dr. Megan Yaraskavitch - Neurologist
Andrew Agro - Director of Corporate Sponsorship and Business Development, New York Jets
Marcia Powers-Dunlop - Senior Manager of Professional Support Services, Toronto District School Board
Joe Vernon - Lawyer, Miller Canfield
Emily Rudow - Founder, Oneiric Hockey
Todd Cooney - Vice President and Broker, CBRE Limited
Jennifer Elliott - Sports Information Officer, uOttawa Gee-Gees
Rohan  Thompson - Social Worker and Professor, Conestoga College
Dr. Fiona Aiston - Family Doctor
Jeremy Hedges - Founder and President, Inksmith
Sadie Anderson - Firefighter
Andrea Elliott - Sports Information Specialist, Ryerson Rams
Alyssa Lagonia - Professional Soccer Player
Ashley Stephenson - Teacher and member of Canada's national women's baseball program
J.R. Edwards - General Manager/Country Director, Carlsberg USA
Ginger Whitney - Vice President, Whitney and Company Realty Limited
Sandy Nixon - Loopstra Nixon law firm