While transitioning into her post-secondary life as a student-athlete, Céline Sterckel found the time to give back to two groups which had an impact on her personal development. For supporting her local school district community and Basketball New Brunswick, Sterckel is a 2021-22 recipient of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Torchbearer Scholarship presented by Hudl.
Sterckel, of Moncton, New Brunswick, is a first-year centre on the St. Thomas Tommies Women’s Basketball team. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree at the Fredericton, NB, based University.
Many families rely on meal programs through their schools, but when the pandemic shut everything down, they no longer had access to those sources of nutrition. Anticipating this impact, Sterckel reached out to assist her former high school in the organization of a fundraiser. The money raised went toward a Bagged Lunch Program to offset the cost of preparing and delivering healthy meals.
“The poverty rate in my community was very high and I could not imagine worrying about where my next meal was going to come from, especially during the pandemic,” said Sterckel. “Despite all the restrictions, I wanted to help, so the fundraiser was a way I could do so.”
Sterckel’s fundraising helped contribute to the distribution of more than 2,500 bagged lunches per week in her school district. In January 2021, she was recognized by the Premier and Government of New Brunswick as part of the ‘Stepping Up for New Brunswick’ campaign. Through this program, members of the public nominated individuals they felt had stepped up in various and meaningful ways to minimize the impact of the pandemic in the province.
Sterckel was a perfect example of the type of well-rounded student-athlete that St. Thomas looks to add to their Women’s Basketball program.
"When we recruited Céline, we knew she was a remarkably caring young woman,” said St. Thomas Head Coach Fred Connors. “She has demonstrated that she loves helping others and cares greatly about her teammates and we are very proud of her and her accomplishments off the court.”
Sterckel also volunteered her time with the Basketball New Brunswick’s Prep Basketball Circuit. She had been part of the program when she was younger and believes it helped her development toward playing post-secondary basketball.
“I wanted to encourage other young female athletes to work hard and believe in themselves,” said Sterckel “I wanted to be a positive role model the same way I had positive role models when I was younger.”
Sterckel returned to serve as an assistant coach on the U-15 & U-17 Girls teams as the team developed their skills and prepared for the upcoming Canada Games.
“Céline is a bright, intelligent and motivated young lady who will do whatever hard work is necessary to achieve success,” said Neil Smith, Technical Director with Basketball New Brunswick. “I am further impressed with her maturity level and ability to put team goals over individual ones.”
Despite her volunteer commitments and those of her varsity team, Sterckel also manages to excel in the classroom, earning her way onto the 2021 CCAA National Scholar list. The CCAA National Scholar Award recognizes student-athletes who achieve honours standing in academics while competing in intercollegiate athletics.
“Céline’s fundraising for her community’s bagged lunch program, was a really wonderful way to assist those who needed support the most,” said Joel Mrak, CCAA VP of Safe Sport. “She is an impressive leader on her team and in the community, and this is a great reminder of the good work our student-athletes do to help others.”