Amplifying Voices: McMaster Marauders Jenine Alkhatib
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.
Burlington, Ont. (via Hayley McGoldrick) - Student-athletes know that they have some influence on campus, whether it be on their teammates, their classmates, or the larger community surrounding their university.
At McMaster University in Hamilton, a school known for its intense research and academics, world-class athletic facilities and teams, and a diverse student body, there are always bright minds looking for ways to improve for the future, and Jenine Alkhatib is just that.
A member of the women’s soccer team as a goalkeeper, Alkhatib has been an active advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion within both the McMaster and broader Hamilton community, with her efforts to make her community better on top of her athletics and academics earning her the OUA Champion of EDI award.
“As a student-athlete, I think we're in a very unique position where we have a lot of influence on the student population, we have a platform through being athletes, where we're on the stage and everyone's kind of looking at us,” said Alkhatib.
“I think just as a person, I'm passionate about a lot of things, and I say, “Hey, I can actually make a difference through being a student-athlete. We find time, the same can be said about playing sports, like when we're in season, we are training, it's a full-time job, along with, almost a full course load. We make time for things, when it's something you're really passionate about, we just figure it out.”
Alkhatib is a co-founder and executive of McMaster's 2SLGBTQI+ Athlete Advocacy Group (LAAG), being the leader behind creating multiple initiatives including hosting the inaugural Pride games for McMaster's soccer and basketball teams, co-organizing a fundraiser for the Hamilton Trans Health Coalition, and coordinating the Nikki Hiltz Pride 5K run to support LGBTQ+ non-profits.
On top of that, she is part of the McMaster Women's Athletic Leadership Committee (WALC) as a team representative for women's soccer and has helped to run a soccer clinic for girls at a local Hamilton high school.
In just her third year at McMaster, Alkhatib has already made a name for herself off the field as an active member of her community, advancing support for the 2SLGBTQI+ community through sport, and is continuing to make room for everyone at McMaster.
“In my first year, I remember in the winter, I was big fan of the volleyball team, the basketball teams, and they got to do all these fun events, and as a fall sport we never got to do that. I believe one of the events I got to go to was a Pride game, and I really wanted us to do a Pride game, because I see a lot of other schools do it. That was just something I always told my friends, ‘I want to do it. I want to do it.’ That summer, our department announced that we would be starting some new EDI clubs within the department for varsity athletics, and one of them was the 2SLGBTQI+ athlete advocacy group,” said Alkhatib.
“I was like, perfect, this is it, and so I was able to join as an executive. When they asked, ‘Why do you want to join?’ I said, I wanted to do a Pride game. I want us to get more involved as fall sports with the community, make a difference and just do something. I feel the soccer team, especially because we're such a crammed season, we never really get to do any initiatives. From there, we did Pride games for basketball, which has been a pretty big success. We did some fundraisers. And then this past fall, we got to do a Pride game for the soccer teams, which is just an unbelievable success, like it was so great.”
LAAG hosted its first Pride game in November 2023, and since has hosted multiple games across multiple sports, as well as other wellness programs for the greater McMaster student body beyond varsity athletes, such as Queer Yoga and Transgender Visibility Day activities.
The representation is part of Alkhatib’s commitment to creating a more inclusive environment in sport and beyond, especially being a queer defined person herself.
“As a queer defined person, [I] just want to see my community supported through athletics, the same way we try to support the Black community, we try to support the Indigenous community, with Orange Shirt Day. Let's also show some support for the queer community. Even though Pride Month is in June, let's do something earlier,” said Alkhatib.
Pride games have not always been smooth sailing when it comes to capacity, budget, participation or other students understanding why they take place, but Alkhatib is happy to educate her community on why these games are both a celebration and a necessity.
Being able to create a safe, inclusive environment goes beyond athletes being represented on their own team and in sport, but also for those in attendance who may feel more secure knowing an entire group of varsity athletes see them and support them.
“The first time we did do the Pride game from the athletes, there wasn't as much of support as we wanted… it was harder for us to get our message across from the athletes who have a platform but aren't doing it, and so there were a lot of conversations with the department,” said Alkhatib.
The hard conversations that Alkhatib has had to have with departments, other teams, and her own teammates has resulted in immense support from those involved all around the McMaster community and has made way for even more Pride events to be able to take place, seeing the overwhelming positive response.
She credits her strength from support of her coach, Garrett Peters, as one of the reasons so many of Alkhatib’s ideas have been able to come to fruition, and how she has been so relentless in making sure these events happen.
“I'm lucky that I have a very supportive coach who when I said, ‘Let's do a Pride game, I'm going to be bugging everyone. Is that cool with you?’ He said, ‘Go for it.’ Having the support of my coach has been huge. I don't do this because I wanted an award, I'm sure everyone says that, but that was never part of the plan,” said Alkhatib.
“We all find our roles within the team, whether that be on the field or off the field, and this past season, I found a big off the field role, and as I'm stepping into my third year being a leader on and off the pitch and just doing what I can to help our team outreach, to help the girls within the team feel supported.”
Whether her work will impact rookies on the team to also get involved off the field, or other student-athletes in general, the work that Alkhatib has done has created a positive impact that has rippled beyond her own team.
Being able to be that person to step up and be the voice for marginalized communities who feel they can’t do so for themselves, especially in sport, is exactly why Alkhatib’s involvement in creating safe 2SLGBTQI+ spaces has earned her the accolade of EDI champion.
“Seeing that we get recognized, I'm grateful to the OUA. It was a really cool experience winning that award. Like, very cool, I'm just very grateful that the work I did has been recognized. Hopefully it continues, but I'm just trying to do the best I can,” said Alkhatib.
Alkhatib’s time at McMaster is far from over, which means that there is more time to be able to make a further impact on her teammates, fellow student-athletes, greater McMaster community, and the city of Hamilton with her initiatives.
While Pride games and having the unity and support from multiple other teams has made a lasting impact and has created safe space for many students on campus within McMaster’s athletics department, the work has only just begun for Alkhatib.
“I've been plotting, I've been thinking of things within the queer space. We've done a lot of great stuff. So myself and the other executives at LAAG have lots of ideas moving forward. We want to do more Pride games with different sports, I definitely want to get more involved in the women's EDI space,” said Alkhatib.
“When I won the award, there was a little spiel about me working with the Women's Athletic Leadership Committee. I just did a couple soccer clinics with them for young girls. I would definitely want to get more involved there. I'd love us to reach out to local high schools, local elementary schools, get involved with the kids there, definitely be leaders to these girls, because they do look up to us.”
Part of Alkhatib’s mission is to be able to keep expanding beyond McMaster and beyond the Hamilton community, inspiring the next generation of athletes whether they are queer-identifying, women in sport, or simply other student-athletes wanting to make a difference.
No matter how small the start of an idea is, Alkhatib believes that as long as the passion and willingness to put in the work to make something happen is there, the end result will come soon after.
“Winning this award, hopefully people see what we do can inspire others, and that's obviously the goal. If I can make an impact here that expands outwards, it's amazing to me, but you always try to take what you learn and move it to other areas, other spheres if you can,” said Alkhatib.
“I think for us to even have a Champion of EDI award, to recognize more of a community service, how are we growing EDI within sports spaces… by recognizing it, the OUA wants to recognize me as a Champion of EDI, maybe some people will see that and go, okay, we're moving forward to have a more open and accepting environment, not just for women, but for men or anyone who defines however they want, and I'm just grateful to get to be the face of it.”
