Student athletes have a great opportunity to not only make lifelong friends and memories, but to also gain valuable skills for the working world, an Olympic and professional athlete says.
Brianne Jenner was the keynote speaker during the first Olds College Broncos Scholarship Breakfast, held Dec. 3 in the Frank Grisdale Hall gym.
Jenner was a member of the Canadian Olympic women's hockey team which won the gold medal during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia and a silver medal during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang South Korea. She also won one gold and six silver medals during International Ice Hockey Federation world championships.
Jenner played college hockey at Cornell University. She was chosen Ivy League Player of the Year twice and was named her team's most valuable player in the 2013-14 season.
She is now a forward with the Calgary Inferno women's professional hockey team, an assistant coach with the Mount Royal University women's hockey team and a mentor with the Olds College Broncos through the Head To Head mentorship organization.
Jenner noted as of Dec. 3, she had visited Olds College five times in her role as a mentor.
"It's just important to know that this is a great opportunity that they have and just make the most out of these couple of years playing for Olds College," Jenner told reporters.
"There are so many great supports for these athletes in place and everyone in this community wants to see them succeed, so just making the most of all of these services and opportunities and just enjoying it, because it is a lot of great experiences and a really fun couple of years when you have the chance to play for your school and for your community."
Jenner said not only do student athletes create great memories and form lifelong friendships through sport, they also learn valuable skills like time management that will serve them well in their careers after sport.
"I felt like I was just trying to keep my head above water 99 per cent of the time," she said.
"But it's one of the most enjoyable experiences, because you're pushed out of your comfort zone, but at the same time, you're doing things that you love, and you're able to get a great education and make some lifelong friendships with the teammates that you have in college.
"I think you're essentially forced to become very good at time management and you're forced to be able to prioritize what's important," she added.
Jenner said she hasn't yet decided whether she'll try out for the 2022 Canadian women's Olympic hockey team.
"I mean, I love playing for the national team and I think I'll continue to want to play for the team as many years as I can. That being said, four years is a long ways away and so I just kinda want to take it, you know, one season at a time," Jenner said.
"But certainly, I know I'm very lucky that I'm able to do my dream job, which is being a hockey player, and I'm not in any rush to move on from this career quite yet."
