Contact:
Jessica Kruger, 778.865.4945, jkruger@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, PAMR, 778.782.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca

Photos: http://at.sfu.ca/rcOHla

Jessica Kruger, a Simon Fraser University English undergrad and the only female member of the co-ed B.C. provincial rugby team, is striving to become one of the world’s first quadriplegic models.

Canada’s youngest female wheelchair rugby player — this 20-year-old Coquitlam resident is one of about 407 contestants competing nationally to become the face of Lise Watier’s Something Sweet perfume. The new Canadian cosmetic brand is looking for a woman to become the star of its advertising campaign.

“I initially entered the contest just for fun on the urging of a friend,” says Kruger who was rendered a quadriplegic when she fell from a ladder at age 15.

“But then when my entry really garnered attention I realized how I could use this to help raise awareness that mental and physical disabilities don’t make a person less of a person. Society still stigmatizes disabled people. It shouldn’t be weird for somebody to open up a magazine and see a disabled person featured in a beauty shot.”

The engaging athlete, who looks as striking in a dress as she does on a rugby court playing a game known as “murderball” because of its roughness, is also a published author. Reader’s Digest published her article "Conquer Fear" in 2009 when she was a Grade 12 student.

To reach the final round of the Lise Watier Something Sweet contest, Kruger needs to accumulate the most votes on her contest website. Voting runs until June 8. To vote for Jessica, click here.

Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

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Simon Fraser University: Engaging Students. Engaging Research. Engaging Communities.