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Two-time Olympic gold medallist Cassie Campbell-Pascall shares how being taught the value of hard work shaped her remarkable success in hockey and beyond.
By Laura Bickle
Photo: Courtesy of Sportsnet
Describe yourself in elementary school in three words.
Adventurous. Loud. All over the map.
Describe yourself in high school.
Focused, troublesome, athletic.
What were your favourite subjects?
History and gym.
What was your most challenging subject?
Math.
Who are your favourite historical figures?
Lucy Maud Montgomery. We’re actually related. She got married in the house my dad grew up in in PEI.
As a student, what career path did you dream of following?
Forensic psychologist. And then I thought I might be a teacher.
What natural gift did you wish to possess during your school days?
A photographic memory. I had to study hard because I didn’t have retention.
What do you wish you had been taught in school but weren’t?
Life skills: money, banking, investments.
My favourite way to spend recess was …
Dodgeball or whatever sport was going on.
My favourite school lunch was …
Food from the Jamaican store near my high school.
My favourite extracurricular activities were …
Basketball, hockey and soccer.
The thing I learned in kindergarten that still applies to my life today is …
How to be respectful. I wasn’t great at academics, but I loved school and interacting with people.
Fondest school-related memory?
The Grade 8 play. I was Rizzo in Grease. I had a solo. I learned how much work it takes to really succeed.
Strongest memory from your graduation day?
I was the valedictorian in Grade 8. I was so proud to represent my peers.
Best advice that a teacher gave you during your school years that you still think of?
One time, I went to my science teacher for extra help and complained about how the subject seemed to come so easily to other students. He said that other students feel that way when they see me do sports. We all have our strengths and we all have to work harder at some things than others.