Paralympian Katarina Roxon receives honorary MUN doctorate

Alex Kennedy · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 20 minutes ago

Paralympic swimmer Katarina Roxon — the pridefulness of Kippens, N.L. — received an honorary degree from Memorial University arsenic portion of convocation ceremonies.

Roxon smiled as she approached the podium.

She said it's a moment she knew was coming since February, but it was inactive a shocker.

"[Learning about] it was precise exciting, but I deliberation it's lone mounting successful close now," she told a assemblage successful Corner Brook Thursday. "Thank you each truthful much, I truly admit this."

Roxon competed successful her 5th Paralympic Games successful Paris successful 2024, where she besides served arsenic Canada's co-flag bearer during the opening ceremony.

To date, she has four Paralympic medals, 2 of which are gold. But extracurricular of sports, Roxon is besides among the youngest members of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador and a recipient of both the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Speaking with CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning earlier this month, she called the grant a tremendous honour that ranks among her important accomplishments.

"I don't deliberation it's imaginable to take 1 [moment], due to the fact that they're each intertwined. They're each connected successful immoderate mode possible," she said.

She credits her parents for instilling values of independency and determination, and said those qualities tin assistance anyone execute their goals, something she says her younger aforesaid would resonate with.

"There's going to beryllium truthful galore debased moments successful your life, and there's going to beryllium a fewer precocious moments. But each those debased moments are going to marque each those astonishing precocious moments perfectly memorable, perfectly incredible," she said.

"All the radical that are going to beryllium successful your country is going to astound you truthful much. Just beryllium prepared for the thrust of your life."

Today, Roxon is taking time distant from the excavation to program her wedding, but besides has her sights acceptable on the festivities astatine the Canada Games this summertime successful St. John's.

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