When I had my injury, it was devastating not to be able to get back on a skateboard. What really kept me going and in a good mental headspace is running this club. That has really been a full circle for me

Amber Corbett
Clerkship Coordinator‌Department of Surgery, Surgery Education Office 

Amber's Skateboard Connection 

Tell us about your role. 

I am one of the Department of Surgery Clerkship Coordinators. I have been with UCSF for nine years, with over 20 years in education. Last year, I had a cerebral spinal fluid leak, and it caused some brain damage. It made me realize I wanted to work more with students who would be working right away on the patient side. Now I work with third- and fourth-year students, clerkships. The experience with residents/students while I was in the hospital was really life-changing for me.

How did you get into skateboarding? 

I was really into skateboarding in middle school and high school. I did not skate very much because there were not as many women, but I was really into the culture. I would go to the parks, and I had a lot of friends who skated. 

During the pandemic, I wanted to start skating again. I found a cool group that supports our club called Skate Like a Girl. I went to a skate camp in Sequoia National Park, and I met people of all different genders who were hosting their own skate clubs. Then I started thinking about whether other University of California locations had skate clubs. UCSF seemed to be the only UC left without one, so I wanted to try to create one.

Tell us about creating the Skateboard Club at UCSF.

I worked on creating the club for a year. Our club is staff-run and has students, faculty, staff, and alumni. My husband Josh Cobbett started at UCSF a little after that, and he’s also an officer in the club, as are UCSF colleagues Jonah Schennum and Marina Menchero. ‌

We have partnered with different groups. We have volunteered with Healing Hearts, which works with children with disabilities, from Down syndrome to missing limbs and all different kinds of disabilities. We spent a day in Sacramento with them, teaching them how to skate. We do events like skate video game nights and trivia nights, so if someone is injured or cannot skate, they can still participate in other ways. We also spent a volunteer day with SkateMD, a Northern California non-profit.

How did your illness impact your ability to skateboard? 

When I had my injury, I obviously could not skate anymore, and I am still at a very high risk. It was devastating not to be able to get back on a skateboard. I had a lot of neurology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. What really kept me going and in a good mental headspace is running this club. I can stay involved in skateboarding, even though I cannot get on a skateboard right now. I can spend even more time reaching out to people who are interested in skating but maybe a little too scared, or who just want to check it out. I tell them that if they cannot skate, they can still come hang out and see the club. That has really been a full circle for me. 

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‌How did the care you received change your career path? 

‌What impacted me most about the care was being on the other side. I had spent so much time around students on the administrative side, but I did not usually see them in the hospital setting. It was amazing to wake up and see students and residents around my bed, learning and asking questions. The care I got from UCSF was truly the best, and it made me even more committed to it. Even when I was in the hospital, I would tell people about our skateboarding club and ask them to follow us on Instagram. The nurses and doctors followed us! ‌

Follow them, connect, and learn more from the Stakeboard Club at UCSF Instagram page and the official UCSF campus group page. 

FAVORITE COOKIE JAR TREAT 

Anything caramel, especially salted caramels

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