Ann-Marie Sylvia
Doctoral Candidate, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Kinesiology Department.
Ann-Marie Sylvia is a doctoral candidate in UMass Amherst’s School of Public Health and Health Science’s Kinesiology Department. Ann-Marie’s research interests focus on the use of physical activity as a medication to improve overall quality of life and health outcomes. Currently she is conducting research looking at the intersection of physical activity, neurodivergent children and adolescents, and the human-animal bond. During the Fall 2024 semester Ann-Marie is teaching two first year seminars: Physical Activity, Neurodivergence, and Star Wars, as well as, Guinness World Records, Big Goals, and You! (she is a current Guinness World Record holder). In her classroom, Ann-Marie is passionate about creating an inclusive learning environment and grounds her teaching in the Critical-Inclusive Pedagogy Framework to meet students where they are and adjust her own expectations of students to match the educational needs and wants of each individual student.