Working with special equestrians — a therapeutic horseback riding program for child and adults with special needs — is something Mississippi University for Women student Katie Banasiewicz has been involved with since her high school days in Birmingham, Ala.
“I did this during high school, and I found it to be rewarding and challenging in helping persons with these special needs. It is still means a lot to me to stay involved,” she said.
Banasiewicz is a sophomore majoring in physical therapy. She said she decided to major in this field because of her work with therapeutic horses.
“They help people with special needs to overcome obstacles and give them confidence,” she said.
Banasiewicz said she decided to come to The W because she liked the campus during a visit for students interested in leadership and community service.
“I fell in love with the place when I came here for the conference. I like being here at The W because I like the small classes and everyone seems to known everyone,” she said.
Anatomy is one of the many classes Banasiewicz said she enjoys, among others.
“I also enjoy my English classes,” she said.
Banasiewicz said she plans to get her master”s and doctorate in physical therapy and wants to stay involved with special equestrian programs.
“I would like to go to North Carolina if possible and set up a facility there,” she said.
She also enjoys being in the Columbus area.
“There are a lot of fun places for my friends and I to hang out,” Banasiewicz said.
Along with her studies, she has also taken time to establish a Civitan club on the “W” campus. Banasiewicz said Auburn University is the closest college campus that has its own Civitan Club.
Civitan is a worldwide service organization. According to its Web site, “The mission of Civitan worldwide is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.”
“We are working to get our club affiliated with Civitan International. That is all we have to do.”
How did you go about establishing a Civitan Club at The W?
I contacted a member of a Civitan Club in Birmingham, and I contacted John Longmire, North Mississippi District Governor for Civitan International. We are still awaiting to become affiliated.
What projects has your group started working on?
We are working on the MS Walk, the Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. We plan to have a bake sale to raise money for that. We also plan to participate in the American Cancer Society”s Relay for Life.
Any special plans for this project?
We are going to have something called Purple Week, It is where we focus on different types of cancers that affect families including bone, skin, breast and colon cancer.
What is it about these projects that inspired you and your organization to get involved?
My family has been touched by both diseases. My grandmother recently died of MS, and I have an aunt that has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
When does your Civitan Club have its meetings?
We meet every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Hogarth W room. We have 13 members for now.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
