WCU Associate Professor Kanae Hasishi’s Inclusion and Wellness Mission
Sports and athletics have always been an important part of Kanae Haneishi’s identity. As a girl growing up in Japan, Kanae was drawn to what she was good at, much like any adolescent seeking self-esteem and identity. Athletics was the most comfortable and rewarding place for her.
Her special talent was most evident in the field of soccer, where Kanae showed great ability and earned a coveted spot on a competitive team. Eventually, she fought her way up the ranks and qualified for Japan’s top women’s soccer league. However, during that time, she didn’t have a female coach or physical education teacher to look up to.
It wasn’t until she was 21 that she was able to think about what her future held. At that time, I received a scholarship to play soccer at a university in the United States. “When I came to the United States, there were a lot of great female leaders in sports,” she said. “That’s when I realized I could be a leader in physical education and sports and move forward to create a more fair and just environment for all people.”
Well, an associate professor of exercise and sports science and K-12 physical education at Western Colorado University has done just that. In just a short period of time, she has created a diverse physical education and exercise space throughout the Gunnison Valley that welcomes everyone.
So far this year, her work has won two awards. In July, Haneishi learned that the Colorado Health and Physical Education Association (SHAPE) had selected her from a statewide pool of candidates for the 2024 College Teacher of the Year award. And in August, she was named the 2025 National Teacher of the Year recipient. The National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE) presented the Excellence in Teaching award to nominees from across the country.
“The NAKHE Award is a very prestigious award,” said Gary Van Gilder, professor and chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences. “This qualification is only given to those who have seriously dedicated their professional lives to the field of kinesiology and physical education and have demonstrated success in the classroom.”
At Western University, she was an inspiration to her students, many of whom wrote letters of support for her nomination for both awards and congratulated her on her win. In the classroom, we have helped create a culture of inclusion that recognizes that not everyone knows how to throw a ball or run a race, or enjoys it. However, everyone can benefit from and enjoy some form of physical activity. “If I can help my students find even one physical activity that they love, that’s so valuable,” she said. “But I also teach my students that they can’t just be physical education teachers; they also need to be experts in physical activity and health in their communities.”
Kanae had a huge impact on the Gunnison community. Each semester, she and her students provide a physical education program to local homeschool groups, teaching them about nutrition and physical activity. She also works with Gunnison Parks and Recreation, coaching three youth soccer teams with students hired as assistants.
She recognizes that while these children and many others in her community lead active lives, many young people, especially those from immigrant families, do not have sufficient access to physical activity for a variety of reasons. Masu. “They’re not enrolling their kids in recreational sports,” Kanae said. “There are huge gaps, especially for minority female students.”
When she arrived in the Gunnison community, there was no women’s soccer team. If girls wanted to play soccer, they had to play against boys’ teams or go all the way to Crested Butte. Recognizing the lack of access to women’s soccer, she took the initiative to start Gunnison’s first women’s soccer team. There are currently three women’s teams that compete each season.
Making PE accessible and inclusive is at the core of Kanae’s mission, but she knows PE is more than just physical activity. This is a place where students can learn to share space in ways they cannot in other classes, learn to work in teams, and develop interpersonal skills, leadership skills, and conflict resolution. “Physical education teachers are not only expected to know pedagogy, skills and tactics, but they are also expected to teach social and personal skills,” she said.
In Kanae’s opinion, physical education is not about discovering talent or developing athletes who become professional athletes. This is a place where children learn to become better people, and part of that is learning the value of a physically active lifestyle and the benefits it can have for their health.
“We want the future of society to be healthy mentally, spiritually and physically,” she said. “Children these days face very complex situations, so schools need quality education that goes beyond the subjects they are learning. Mental health is a serious issue, and being physically active is important. We know that it leads to better mental health, and when kids are healthier, they’re better prepared to learn.”
