Kinesiology co-op student Emily Chiara has enhanced women’s lives, one bra fitting at a time.
Emily completed her first work term at Susan’s Fine Lingerie and Mastectomy Boutique this past winter. She trained as a professional bra fitter for women who have had (or will have) a mastectomy, a treatment for cancer that involves the surgical removal of all or part of the breast.
“When you’re dealing with such a personal matter, people tell you things,” Emily says, touching on the conversations she had during the fittings. “They talk about their experiences. They share things about their lives. We had a lot of that.”
During her co-op term, Emily applied her kinesiology experience to help women make their post-surgery recovery more comfortable. She introduced them to a variety of breast moulds, often for the first time. “Lots of [the women] that come in have never seen a breast form before. If you haven’t gone through it, you just don’t know what’s out there,” Emily said.
Emily described overcoming the nervousness of the first job application process and gaining confidence in her abilities. “Learning about different diseases in various classes allowed me to have a greater understanding of cancer and what these women were going through,” Emily said. “One of my career paths is going into medicine. I believe in personalized medicine that focuses on creating a strong patient-doctor relationship. This job showed me how to be personal but professional.”
