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| Kaitlynn McNutt (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Kaitlyn McNutt pulls out her daytimer from her backpack and makes a note. The well-thumbed tome goes with her everywhere, noting where she should be and what she should be doing from hour to hour.
“All my friends make fun of me,” she says with a smile. “But it does keep me on track.”
After all, there is a lot to keep track of. The 22-year-old chemical engineering major, recently awarded Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s Marion Hillard Award for her achievements as an athlete, student and volunteer, usually has hockey practice five times a week, two games (at home or on the road), a couple of weight sessions and yoga, a shift at the soup kitchen at St. Andrew’s Church on Sundays and other volunteer commitments, and, oh yeah, classes.
The Ottawa native is finishing her degree in chemical engineering and is set to graduate. She heads to South America for a much-needed break before reporting at the job she’s lined up with Shell Canada in Peace River in northern Alberta.
“I optimize my time during class because I don’t have a lot of time to spare and I like to keep my evenings free to socialize,” she says. Her fellow students in the Department of Chemical Engineering are “a close-knit group” and she’s going to miss them after graduation.
Friendly, generous and kind-hearted, Ms. McNutt is a force to be reckoned with on the ice. She’s been playing hockey since she was five years old when she and her older sister Megan—a forward on the Queen’s University varsity team—were the only girls in the league in Alliston, Ont.
“You’ve got to be tough to play in a boys’ league,” says Tigers captain and defenceman who loves the speed and aggression of the sport. “I think playing with the boys helped me; they didn’t take it easy on us by any means.”