Abriel, 19, will return to Charlottetown this fall for the second year of a two-year diploma program in sport and leisure management at Holland College.
When she graduated from West Kings in June 2014, Abriel already knew she would be going to P.E.I.
“Holland College was the only school I applied to,” she says. “I wasn’t really interested in university, and Holland College had a program that sounded interesting and right up my alley.”
She was no stranger to P.E.I., having attended summer camps and church camps there. She made friends there who were attending Holland College, as were at least two of her former schoolmates at West Kings.
Growing up in Kingston, Abriel played a number of sports, beginning in earnest when she started Grade 6 at Pine Ridge Middle School.
In her Grade 12 year at West Kings, she played soccer, basketball, track and field and softball. She was a good enough all-round athlete to be chosen as the West Kings senior female athlete of the year for a second straight year.
‘Basketball was my favourite’
Abriel loves to run, but decided in Grade 12 that “basketball was my favourite.” She was not recruited to Holland College to play basketball, but set a goal: make the Hurricanes women’s basketball team as a walk-on.
“I didn’t know how that would work out, but I worked really hard on my skills, through Grade 12 and during the summer, to make sure I was as ready as possible.”
After arriving in Charlottetown, she attended the Hurricanes’ training camp as a walk-on.
“I’d talked to the coach. He knew me, and was aware of my stats, but I didn’t have really high hopes.”
She ultimately achieved her goal of making the team.
“I ended up not playing that much, but I got the experience. That was the key, and what I wanted.”
Playing in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Conference, the Hurricanes won the conference championship and got to compete at the CCAA nationals in Nanaimo, B.C., where they ended up winning the bronze medal.
Her first year “was a great experience,” Abriel said.
“A full course load, plus the basketball, made for an exciting year. Busy, but good. You won’t get too many opportunities to go to nationals, especially at that level, and in your first year.”
Although she is eligible to play basketball again this coming year, Abriel doesn’t plan to due to time constraints.
The team, she said, “was on the road a lot of weekends. The schoolwork wasn’t too bad, but there was a lot of practice time involved, and a lot of travelling. It was pretty time-consuming.”
That’s not to say she plans to give up on sports.
“I may run if they have a track team. They didn’t have one last year, but they had one the year before, and they’re talking about having a team this coming year if the interest is there.”
In hindsight, Abriel said she “couldn’t have made a better decision of where to be for my first year away from home.” She loved Charlottetown, and made lots of friends and lots of connections.
“That’s one reason I went, and it was an easy decision.”
Abriel and her family attend the Greenland Bible Chapel in Cornwallis, Annapolis County. There is also a Bible Chapel in Charlottetown, another reason she chose P.E.I., and it helped smooth the transition for her.
Looking ahead
Abriel is looking forward to going back to P.E.I. in September, and is anticipating what “should be a pretty good year.”
After completing her course next year, Abriel would “like to travel, maybe do some mission work for the church overseas. I guess I have lots of time to think about that.”
She added, “I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life in school. It’s all I’ve done since I was five years old. I’m looking forward to getting on with the rest of my life,” whatever that ends up holding for her.
Abriel, 19, will return to Charlottetown this fall for the second year of a two-year diploma program in sport and leisure management at Holland College.
When she graduated from West Kings in June 2014, Abriel already knew she would be going to P.E.I.
“Holland College was the only school I applied to,” she says. “I wasn’t really interested in university, and Holland College had a program that sounded interesting and right up my alley.”
She was no stranger to P.E.I., having attended summer camps and church camps there. She made friends there who were attending Holland College, as were at least two of her former schoolmates at West Kings.
Growing up in Kingston, Abriel played a number of sports, beginning in earnest when she started Grade 6 at Pine Ridge Middle School.
In her Grade 12 year at West Kings, she played soccer, basketball, track and field and softball. She was a good enough all-round athlete to be chosen as the West Kings senior female athlete of the year for a second straight year.
‘Basketball was my favourite’
Abriel loves to run, but decided in Grade 12 that “basketball was my favourite.” She was not recruited to Holland College to play basketball, but set a goal: make the Hurricanes women’s basketball team as a walk-on.
“I didn’t know how that would work out, but I worked really hard on my skills, through Grade 12 and during the summer, to make sure I was as ready as possible.”
After arriving in Charlottetown, she attended the Hurricanes’ training camp as a walk-on.
“I’d talked to the coach. He knew me, and was aware of my stats, but I didn’t have really high hopes.”
She ultimately achieved her goal of making the team.
“I ended up not playing that much, but I got the experience. That was the key, and what I wanted.”
Playing in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Conference, the Hurricanes won the conference championship and got to compete at the CCAA nationals in Nanaimo, B.C., where they ended up winning the bronze medal.
Her first year “was a great experience,” Abriel said.
“A full course load, plus the basketball, made for an exciting year. Busy, but good. You won’t get too many opportunities to go to nationals, especially at that level, and in your first year.”
Although she is eligible to play basketball again this coming year, Abriel doesn’t plan to due to time constraints.
The team, she said, “was on the road a lot of weekends. The schoolwork wasn’t too bad, but there was a lot of practice time involved, and a lot of travelling. It was pretty time-consuming.”
That’s not to say she plans to give up on sports.
“I may run if they have a track team. They didn’t have one last year, but they had one the year before, and they’re talking about having a team this coming year if the interest is there.”
In hindsight, Abriel said she “couldn’t have made a better decision of where to be for my first year away from home.” She loved Charlottetown, and made lots of friends and lots of connections.
“That’s one reason I went, and it was an easy decision.”
Abriel and her family attend the Greenland Bible Chapel in Cornwallis, Annapolis County. There is also a Bible Chapel in Charlottetown, another reason she chose P.E.I., and it helped smooth the transition for her.
Looking ahead
Abriel is looking forward to going back to P.E.I. in September, and is anticipating what “should be a pretty good year.”
After completing her course next year, Abriel would “like to travel, maybe do some mission work for the church overseas. I guess I have lots of time to think about that.”
She added, “I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life in school. It’s all I’ve done since I was five years old. I’m looking forward to getting on with the rest of my life,” whatever that ends up holding for her.
