From the President's Desk: March 2025

Hello everyone,

Participation in athletic events has been shown to positively impact educational success by promoting discipline, time management, and teamwork – essential skills that transfer to the classroom. Student-athletes often develop strong work ethics and goal-setting abilities which contribute to higher academic achievement. Being part of a team also fosters a sense of belonging, encouraging students to stay engaged in their educational journey. Additionally, balancing sports and academics helps learners build resilience and adaptability, preparing them for success in both their academic and professional futures.

Our Rustler student-athletes continue to excel as you can see by this list of recent accomplishments:

• Women’s volleyball won provincial and national gold for the third year in a row!
• Women’s ice hockey won an ACAC gold medal.
• Lakeland College hosted the Men’s and Women’s Futsal Championships. Both teams finished fourth, losing out on bronze medals in extra time.
• Lakeland College hosted the ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championship and finished in fourth place, losing out to the ACAC team who won the national title two weeks later.
• Lakeland sent all three curling teams to the ACAC Championship with all three teams finishing in fourth place.
• Men’s basketball placed sixth at the ACAC Championships.
• many students participated in Lakeland College’s annual Little Royal events and won three championship buckles.
• Rustler rowing crews, at the Alberta indoor championships, took home six medals including three gold.

Congratulations to our student-athletes on these outstanding accomplishments. Your hard work, dedication, and commitment to both your sport and academics are truly inspiring.

Additionally, Austin Dyer (women’s volleyball), Sheray Thomas (men’s basketball), Peter Walsh and Derek Collins (rowing), received Coaches of the Year awards. Congratulations, Austin, Sheray, Peter, and Derek and a big thank you to all the coaches and support staff. I want to thank Alan Rogan, athletics director, for his hard work and dedication to the athletic program at Lakeland College.

The Regional High School Skills Event was held on February 28 and 66 high school students from the region participated in nine separate categories.

Thanks to our donors’ generosity, a total of 1,194 awards, bursaries, and scholarships have been awarded, valued at $1.52 million for the 2024-25 academic year.

It is clear that both our students and staff continue to embody our motto, Ever to Excel. I am truly honoured to be part of the incredible team at Lakeland College and deeply grateful for everyone’s hard work and passion in supporting student success.

Until next time,

Alice