Émile Hégarty-Aubin arrived in Cape Breton after being traded from the Gatineau Olympiques over the summer. At 19 years old, he was going to shift from doing in person classes to learning from a computer screen many kilometers away from his hometown… in the middle of a global pandemic.
Completing all your school via a computer, far away from your home, is not an easy task. Being in the same room with the same people, day after day, can be boring, disengaging and feel like it will never end.
Yet Elie Blondin, the team’s french language facilitator, had the following to say about Émile: “He is an exceptional student who is a good influence on his classmates and has an open spirit about taking on new challenges.”
Émile could have easily thrown in the towel. However, he took on the challenge and became a person who other players gravitate towards. For a team who is still quite young, this is an invaluable trait. He will have a lasting impact on the young players for years to come.
With all the uncertainty in the world, we need to take a moment and applaud Émile’s perseverance, as well as his attitude to continue with his studies and have positive results.
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Text by Ryan MacPherson, Academic Advisor of the Cape Breton Eagles
