HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-06-14, Page 11Brook Wheeler is a girl who
knows what she wants and she
seems to excel at whatever she tries.
First hockey, now theatre.
When Wheeler laced up her skates
for the first time, she fell in love with
hockey. Subsequently, she gravitated
to the position of goalie. Again, once
she donned the pads, she knew that
was where she belonged.
And now, she’s discovered another
passion; theatre.
In the fall, Wheeler will head to
New York University where she will
take a one-year course in educational
theatre.
On June 25, she’ll head to Long
Island where a nannying job is
waiting for her in the summer
months leading up to her time at
NYU.
As excited as she is about the
nannying job (the family she’ll be
working with is a neighbour of Billy
Joel), it’s the course at NYU that has
her most excited and leaves her with
no qualms about retiring from
hockey.
“I’m ecstatic,” she says. “I think a
lot of people in the area don’t realize
how prestigious this school is.”
And it is. With NYU breeding
players for Hollywood and
Broadway, Wheeler says her future
stands as a bit of a question mark,
whether she’ll stay in New York and
try to make a living on Broadway or
where her education will take her.
Theatre education is Wheeler’s
new focus, saying that she knew this
was what she wanted to do early on
in her time at Colgate University. As
part of an independent study unit,
she adapted Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream for the
kids. It turned out to be a great
success.
Wheeler sees theatre as a new
challenge for her. She feels that she’s
gone as far as she can go with
hockey and this is her new passion.
In fact, she’s relieved when she’s
garnered attention for something
other than her hockey achievements.That’s not all she’s relieved about.She also says this is one of the firsttimes she’s branched out intouncertainty.“This move is kind of a relief. It’snice to be unsure for a change,” she
said. “My life so far has been very
structured. It’s nice for once to not
know what’s ahead.”
Structure is something that
Wheeler has lived her whole life
with, starting with high school in the
U.S.
Wheeler began high school at
Culver Academy in Indiana. While
the male side of the school was a
military academy, the female side
followed a similar structure where
there was very little room left for
deviation.
“I missed my parents, but we
weren’t left alone. Instead, I had 10
parents,” she said.
“It was a tough transition, and it
all happened so quick that I forgot
what I was leaving behind.”
And while Wheeler isn’t upset
about the years she spent in the U.S.,
she did say it was a tough
adjustment. While it is common for
children to leave the nest for college,
Wheeler did it at a younger age, and
with a border separating her from
her family.
“It really didn’t click in with me
until 9/11, how far away I was from
[my family],” she said. “They closed
the border and I couldn’t get home
even if I wanted to. That was when I
realized how far away from home I
was.”
After travelling to a tournament in
Boston with Culver, a scout from
Colgate University contacted
Wheeler about playing goalie for
them in her upcoming season.
Again, after a tour, Wheeler said
she fell in love immediately. There
was, however, another transition
from a military academy with “not
much room to get out of line” to the
American collegiate experience.
Wheeler kept up with her studies,
but said it was different, not having
anyone telling her to go to class and
suddenly being faced with all of the
experiences of university life.
The living situation, however, was
not a big transition. Wheeler says
she just moved from one dorm room
to another.
Her career at Colgate has been
well-documented and will go down
as one of the great athletic
performances in Colgate’s history.
Wheeler can be thanked for several
firsts for their hockey program.
Wheeler isn’t one for stats, saying
that there isn’t a chance she could
rhyme off her record, save
percentages or anything of the sort.
While playing on a scholarship
(something Wheeler aspired to
achieve as soon as she heard there
was such a thing) she clocked 10
shutouts, won the league’s
goaltender of the week award seven
times and finished her last week ofthe season with a 0.94 goals againstaverage and a .974 save percentage.These are all phenomenalnumbers, but one of the highesthonours bestowed upon Wheelerwas the invitation to speak at the
league’s banquet.
In addition to the personal
milestones, Wheeler’s success
elevated Colgate to a level they had
never been at before. In Wheeler’s
time there, the team chalked up wins
against mighty opponents: Harvard,
Dartmouth and Princeton, for the
first time in their history.
And while Wheeler was courted
and brought to Colgate to play
hockey, she said she spent much of
her early years there on the bench,
and then eventually trading time
with the outgoing senior goaltender,
as they groomed her to be the starter.
Wheeler says this prepared her for
her exit from hockey. In her final
year, she traded time with the
incoming goaltender, showing her
the ropes and understanding her
place on the team.
“I wanted the team to do well, but
there’s also that selfish itch of
wanting to be in the game,” she said.
However, with all of her success at
the collegiate level, in recent years,
doors have opened for female
hockey players like never before,
especially in Canada.
Wheeler says she was approached
by the Canadian under-22 team to
play, but she sustained an ankle
injury which rendered her disabled.
She says they simply moved on to
the next player.This played a big part in herdecision to stop playing. While shesays she can’t fault the team forwanting to put the best players onthe ice, her quick dismissal told herthat she had gone as far as she
wanted to with hockey.
Wheeler’s new life is set to begin
at the end of the month. Her future is
uncertain, she said while she may
decide to stay in New York,
obtaining a visa isn’t as easy as it
used to be, but she does know that
when she finishes at NYU, she wants
to speak at some local public schools
about the importance of following
your dream.
“I really want to stress that it’s not
going to come to you,” she said.
“You have to work hard and go
after it.”
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2007. PAGE 11. From rink to theatre woman chases her dreams
Movin’ on up
Brook Wheeler of Brussels is back home from Colgate
University, but just briefly before heading to Long Island for
the summer and attending New York University in the fall.
Wheeler first made headlines as a young goaltending
phenom out of Brussels and into the U.S., but now her
focus has turned to theatre education, what she’ll be
attending NYU for. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
The finding of lead in the water of
some municipalities will probably
bring recommendations, said
Huron’s director of health Penny
Nelligan at the June 6 county council
meeting.
Responding to a question by
warden Deb Shewfelt about whether
there had been any direction at this
point from the province, Nelligan
said that testing in Huron resulted in
no findings. Thirty-six communities
were identified which resulted in
additional testing.
At risk are children under six and
pregnant women.
“Putting it into perspective I think
this will become a huge political
issue,” said Nelligan. “The
exposures are very minute. I suspect,
however, that we will be seeing
some recommendations coming
from this.”
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meetings of the
Members of Clinton Public Hospital, St. Marys Memorial Hospital,
Seaforth Community Hospital and Stratford General Hospital will be
held at the Mitchell Golf and Country Club in Mitchell, Ontario, on:
Thursday, June 28, 2007
at 7:00 p.m.
to:
1. Receive Annual Reports of the Board of Directors, including
Financial Statements, together with the Auditor’s Report thereon.
The Financial Statements will be available after June 12th on the
Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance website - www.hpha.ca - Reports.
2. Appoint Auditors.
3. Receive the Ad Hoc Nominating Committee Report on
New Directors
Members who paid their annual fees in full at least thirty (30) days
prior to the date of the meeting shall be entitled to vote.
Members of the public are welcome to attend.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETINGS
Clinton Public Hospital
St. Marys Memorial Hospital
Seaforth Community Hospital
Stratford General Hospital
CORPORATION
OF THE
TOWNSHIP OF
NORTH HURON
TAXES DUE
The 2nd tax installment for the
Township of North Huron is due
on Wednesday, June 27,
2007. Interest at 1 1/4% per
month, or any part thereof will
be charged on unpaid accounts
as of June 28, 2007 and the first
day of each month thereafter.
NOTE: Persons who have
acquired properties and have
not received a tax bill should
contact the Municipal Office.
Failure to receive a tax bill does
not relieve a taxpayer from
responsibility for payment of
taxes, nor from penalty for late
payment.
Please contact the Treasury
Department in regards to the
various payment options
available. A drop box is
available for after hours use at
the Township office.
Donna White
Director of Finance
MEETING NOTICE
MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
The Council meeting
scheduled for
Tuesday,June 19,
will be held at 6:30 pm,
in lieu of 7:30 pm ,
as previously advertised.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
County discusses lead issue
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
BUY? SELL?
TRY CLASSIFIED
Please contact Sue Walden 519-482-8801
VENDORS WANTED
for
Scarecrow Marketplace
on September 22,2007