CNA alumna Katarina Roxon’s full-circle journey
When Katarina Roxon of Kippens walks into a room, her warmth and humility are immediately disarming. You’d never guess that this proud Newfoundlander and Labradorian is one of Canada’s most accomplished Paralympic Games swimmers — a five-time competitor, a medalist, a leader in national sport governance, and now, a recipient of College of the North Atlantic’s Acclaim Award for Young Alumni.
Katarina, who studied Medical Office Management at CNA, has lived a life defined by dedication, resilience, and a deep sense of community.
Whether she’s standing on the podium, sitting on a national board, or helping advocate for accessibility in her province, her message remains consistent: dream big, stay grounded, and never forget where you came from.
A love for the details
When Katarina enrolled in CNA’s Medical Office Management program, the decision might have surprised those who knew her primarily as an elite athlete. But for Katarina, it made perfect sense.
“My parents are both physiotherapists,” she says. “I grew up seeing what happens behind the scenes in the medical world. I’ve always loved the medical field, but what really interested me was how everything functions — all the details that keep things running smoothly.”
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Katarina got hands-on experience helping her parents manage their physiotherapy clinic, handling administrative work while they focused on patient care.
That experience sparked something in her.
“I fell in love with it,” she recalls. “When the Fall came, I signed right up and I have to say, I loved it so much, I was so upset when it was completed. When I graduated, I was like, this is the best program ever!”
She describes her time at CNA as formative — a foundation that continues to shape her professional and personal life. “It taught me so much,” she says. “It made me want to expand that knowledge into other areas as well.”
Rooted in community
For Katarina, success has never been a solo path. Her small-town roots have been the heartbeat of her journey.
“My family, community, and friends have supported me as an athlete in so many ways,” she says. “It’s a different kind of feeling when you’re away somewhere on the other side of the world and you’re by yourself competing. To have people sending you messages or calling you or telling your parents ‘We’re rooting for her’ makes a really big difference on your mentality, on how you perform, on the pressure you put on yourself. It’s incredible to see how a community come together for one person. Our community is phenomenal in that way.”
From Kippens to Tokyo, her home community has followed her journey closely — celebrating her victories, encouraging her through challenges, and reminding her where it all began.
“I am so always so honoured when I get to travel the world, compete on the world stage, and represent Newfoundland and Labrador. It is by far one of my favorite feelings in the world. At every Paralympic Games you see all these people from all these countries coming around with their Spanish flag, with their Greek flag, with their American flag,” she recalls.
“I want to see the Newfoundland and Labrador flags, so for all the games my parents have been to, I spot them instantly. It’s as you’re walking out on the deck and the nerves are hitting you, the excitement is hitting you, the crowd, the fans, the lights, everything is hitting you and then to see that Newfoundland and Labrador flag, it brings me so much peace. It’s like the calm in the storm, and it also reminds me that I have so many people back home cheering for me and rooting me on. It’s a different feeling like no other.”
Making waves on the world stage
Katarina’s story is one of quiet, consistent excellence. As the first Canadian female swimmer — Olympic or Paralympic — to compete in five Games, she has made history while redefining what longevity and passion in sport truly mean.
It’s a distinction she carries with immense pride, not just for herself, but for the doors it opens for others.
“It’s exciting to know that sometimes it only takes one person to do something and then other to be like, ‘oh, this is possible’. Anything is possible,” she says. “I know a few people who are going to be pushing for five, six Games even so it’s exciting to kind of show that there is no limit in sport and there’s no limit to how long you can do anything.”
Her approach to success and competition has evolved over time.
“As a little kid I was just excited to be at the Games. I was excited to compete, and I think throughout my career, during every Games I went to, it was a very different experience. When you’re a veteran, you’ve been there for a couple years and you put more pressure on yourself to compete and sometimes, no matter what you do, it’s not enough because there’s always going be somebody better,” she explains.
As she got older, she realized success isn’t just about medals. It’s about the tiny details — technique, mindset, effort. Success is what you define it to be.
“It’s not about giving up; it’s about going back to the drawing board and reworking some things – looking at the tiny details. The tiny details are so important. I feel that a lot of people overlook the tiny details and think of the bigger picture. Look at the tiny details – they make the bigger picture, and at the end of the day, YOU define success. Success is what you think it is. It could be in sport, it could be making a final, it could be breaking a time you’ve had for 10 years, it could be winning a gold medal. But success is defined by you and by nobody else. And I think that’s super important.”
That mindset, she adds, came from her father — who also happens to be her coach. After her medal-winning swim at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, his first words weren’t about the medal.
“He said, ‘That was great technique,’” she laughs. “My dad has always stayed firm in it doesn’t matter how well you perform, if your technique is wrong, it was not a good swim and it’s true. If you’re going do something, you want to do it to the best of your ability, regardless of what it is. It doesn’t have to be sport. You do it to the best of your ability, and that is success.”
Full circle moments
Katarina is giving back to the very world that helped shape her. As a member of the Board of Directors for the 2025 Canada Games, she helped create a more inclusive and accessible sporting experience for future generations.
“My career started at the Canada Games,” she says. “The full circle moment of going back to the Canada Games, not in the athlete capacity but on the board of directors with athletes in mind, accessibility in mind, where we try to make the Games as accessible as possible for every single person – not just athletes, but spectators, for fans, for coaching staff, for everything. Just everything in between to make it the most accessible Games possible where nobody has any issues. And you know what? It was a phenomenal Games. It was absolutely incredible. I had the time of my life and everybody I’ve spoken to had the best time.”
One moment, stands out — presenting the first swimming medal of the Games to Gavin Baggs, a young athlete from Newfoundland and Labrador.
“In 2005, I was the first athlete from our province to win a medal at the Canada Games — also a silver,” she says. “I think one of the biggest highlights for me was when Gavin won the first medal for Newfoundland and Labrador in the sport of swimming. And it was a silver medal. I got to present his silver medal to him. That was the full circle moment, and it gave me chills. It gave me goosebumps.”
Beyond the pool
Katarina’s commitment to creating change doesn’t stop at sport. She’s an active advocate for accessibility and inclusion, lending her voice to organizations like the Provincial Council for Persons with Disabilities and campaigns such as Healthy Me, Healthy NL.
“I am a big advocate for disability and accessibility, especially here in our province. And I feel the changes that I want to see for our province as a whole moving forward would be to not having any limits to any person, not having a back way entrance for someone who’s in a wheelchair. The same entrance for every single person. Those are, those are just specifics, but it’s every single person should feel as a person. They shouldn’t feel any different. They shouldn’t be looked at any different,” Katarina says.
“It’s 2025 and our world has expanded in so many different ways. It has changed in so many different ways. I would love for accessibility to be universal, that this is the universal design for every single person, no matter what they have, if they’re someone who’s able bodied, if someone who’s visually impaired, someone who’s in a wheelchair, it doesn’t matter. I feel that it’s important that every single person should have the right to feel like a person.”
She also continues to fundraise for causes close to her heart, including Swim for Hope, a cancer research initiative she’s supported since she was seven years old.
“I have different moments in my career, and different aspects of my career, that have been super important like fundraising for Swim for Hope. I started as I was like seven years old and that has stayed with me for a long time, especially because every single person knows somebody who has gone through cancer or is going through cancer,” Katarina reflects.
“It’s a big one for everybody because it’s one that hurts. It’s one that hurts because you don’t want to see your loved one in pain or suffering. For me, and my family Swim for Hope is great and so important to us because my aunt died of cancer. My mom had cancer. And my uncle had cancer, my other aunt had cancer. Everybody knows one person at least that has gone through it so it’s very, very meaningful to me.”
However, she feels there have been many things throughout her career besides the swimming aspect of it that are equally important.
“I feel that there’s not a specific side (of fundraising) that is more important than the other. Each one has their own space and their own importance. That is why I fundraise for different organizations like the War Amps of Canada, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, all of these different organizations have been with me and have either inspired me, have touched me, have helped me in some way in my career, in my life. They’re all equally as important and all have different meaning to every single person.”
Honoured, humbled, and moving forward
Receiving CNA’s Acclaim Award for Young Alumni is a milestone that Katarina holds close to her heart.
“I’m very honored that they chose me to receive this award this year. I love my time at CNA. I absolutely loved it. I learned so much and it has definitely helped me in my life, in my work life as well. It’s super exciting to receive any award, but an award from the school that you went to, a school that has helped you in your actual day-to-day life is incredible,” she says.
“Just remembering all the traveling I did, all the schoolwork I’ve done in the airports. Trying to find Wi-Fi in really crappy hotels where you can’t get service, trying to do video calls, group chats, and to see it all came together so well. To receive an award for all of that hard work – it’s just cherry on top of it all. It’s incredible to receive this award and I’m, I’m truly, truly grateful.”
Katarina recently received another major honour — an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial University — and she has recently embarked on a new adventure: moving to northern Manitoba with her husband and their two dogs. “It’s a whole new chapter,” she says with a smile. “I’m excited for what’s next.”
Dream big, stay grounded
After two decades of breaking barriers, Katarina’s advice for others is refreshingly simple — and deeply wise.
“Dream big, bold dreams,” she says. “Go after it with everything you have. Have the right people supporting you, surrounding you in everything that you do. There’s that saying that, tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are. And it’s true. You surround yourself with the right people, with good people and hardworking people, and that’ll make you also want to be a hardworking person… Don’t let what people say, all the naysayers, don’t let them put you down, but keep dreaming big dreams and go after it with everything that you have.”
As she continues to make waves — in sport, advocacy, and community leadership — Katarina proves that the power of perseverance, kindness, and belief can ripple far beyond the starting blocks.
Through her journey — from pool to podium to purpose — Katarina Roxon continues to remind the world that greatness isn’t defined by medals, titles, or accolades. It’s defined by heart, effort, and the courage to lift others along the way.
