An Olympian on the Mandeville Theater Stage!
By Brie Goodly ’26, Editor-in-Chief; Edited by Kat Willson ’26, Editor-in-Chief
The Gordon Speaker Series (formerly known as the MGI Speaker Series) has been a part of Ridley for almost twenty years and is now one of Ridley’s most rewarding traditions. This Speaker Series has allowed Ridley students to immerse themselves in various forms of knowledge and experiences while hearing from nationally and internationally recognized speakers. This year, the faculty advisors for the Gordon Speaker Series are Mr. Kidd and Dr. Baird, and the faculty advisors additionally receive assistance from the Gordon Speaker Student Committee, consisting of two Ridley students from each Upper school grade. Ridley’s Gordon Speaker Series has had an imposing list of previous speakers which include authors, supreme court judges, professors, and even current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
On Thursday, November 21st, Ridley got to host this year’s first edition of the Gordon Speaker Series, and our special guest for the night was no exception to Ridley’s impressive list of speakers. Ridley had the privilege of welcoming Canadian basketball superstar, Kia Nurse, onto the Mandeville Theater Stage. Within athletics, Nurse has an imposing resume to hold on to, as a current WNBA player for the Los Angeles Sparks and a three-time Olympian, it was an absolute joy to hear about Nurse’s incredible journey within her basketball career. Nurse’s career ranges from winning NCAA championships with the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team to being a basketball broadcaster for TSN, showing how her athletic capabilities can range in various careers. Her words of wisdom were met with an insightful conversation with middle school math teacher, Madame Poulin. Aside from Madame Poulin’s experience as a teacher, she is also very impactful toward Ridley athletics, especially as the coach for the U14 Girls Basketball team, the current CISAA champions. With her impressive athletic experience, Madame Poulin made for a strong moderator in this penetrating conversation.
Along with speaking about her accomplishments and experience as a professional athlete, Nurse was able to offer an abundance of inspiration and advice to Ridley students and other additional viewers. As a message to student-athletes at Ridley, she offered strong advice about the recruitment process and shared how necessary it is to properly accept defeat and losses. For every one of our viewers, there were clear messages of hope and resilience, and she shared how it can impact the path towards accomplishing our goals. “Hope” is this school year’s special word for Ridley, so Nurse connecting her advice to our theme was very important for Ridley students to witness. Lastly, Nurse is a well-known advocate for women’s sports, especially within Canada, and as an advocate she has created a very successful basketball academy, known as Kia Nurse Elite, aiming to allow Canadian female basketball players to play in the NCAA. Kia also encouraged the viewers to support women’s sports, especially after the rise of popularity women’s basketball has experienced.
Luckily, it is safe to say that this conversation was widely enjoyed by our viewers, and it was no surprise that the conversation was met with great engagement and questions from the audience. Each of our viewers truly took something impactful away from this conversation and we can gladly say it was a great start to this year’s Gordon Speaker Series.
