Amongst the thousands of post-secondary students in Canada every year, only a handful can earn the title of Academic All-Canadian.
Qualified students must be an active member of a CIS team and achieve a GPA of 3.67 during that year.
Squamish鈥檚 Hannah Rizun was one of the select few after completing the 2013-14 season with the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Timberwolves and maintaining a sparkling 4.0 GPA.
Rizun joined 14 other UNBC athletes at a ceremony on Nov. 5 and said it鈥檚 an honour to have her hard work recognized.
鈥淲ith athletics you鈥檙e so busy and always training, so sometimes it feels like you push academics to the side,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice for them to acknowledge the fact that we鈥檙e working our butts off. It鈥檚 great that the CIS recognizes student athletes and pushes them to do their best academically and athletically.鈥�
Rizun and the Timberwolves made the move from the Pacwest to the CIS in 2013-14 and are still adjusting to the higher level of play. The team finished 10th in 2013 and this year was sixth in the Pacific Division.
But soccer was on hold in 2014 for Rizun after suffering a concussion in May.
鈥淚 got head butted while playing during the offseason,鈥� she said, explaining that it was her first concussion. 鈥淭hen I retriggered it when I went back for training camp.鈥�
As a result, Rizun did not play and did a medical red shirt in 2014. She said the symptoms still linger but she is improving.
鈥淚t鈥檚 mostly headaches and maintaining concentration is where I notice it the most,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t can be tough being in class and I couldn鈥檛 go on road trips with the team this year so that was a bummer.鈥�
She said the concussion issues have pushed her to work harder to school and had made her want to return to the pitch in 2015.
鈥淚t was really hard at first being on the sidelines but it made me realize how much I want to get back in there and do my best,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 taking it day by day, but my goal is to return and get a good season in next year.鈥�
Rizun has switched her major from Political Science to English History and said she鈥檚 loving life in Prince George.
鈥淚鈥檝e pulled a few all nighters, but I鈥檓 really enjoying it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e also been writing for the student newspaper up here and doing some tutoring 鈥� I鈥檓 really loving it all.鈥�
She said she returns home on Dec. 16 and is hoping to head to France in February on an exchange program. For more information on Rizun鈥檚 achievement, visit www.unbc.ca/news/35541/unbc-recognizes-15-academic-all-canadians.
