Brittany Hudak Finds Balance On and Off the Snow
The Calgary Sun Features One of Classroom Champions Athlete Mentors
We are often in awe of our Classroom Champions Athlete Mentors. Not only are they elite athletes competing at a global level, but they also dedicate time as role models to our schools of Classroom Champions students across the United States and Canada. Plus … they have other pursuits, like the story, Finding balance key for Paralympic athlete Brittany Hudak from the Calgary Sun details.
Brittany Hudak is a bronze medal-winning Paralympian in Nordic skiing and the biathlon. Yet she’s found that a balance of sport and school is what keeps her motivated and focused. Throughout her training, Brittany studied social work at the University of Regina.
“Sometimes, I’m almost more motivated to go to work if I’ve maybe not had the best day skiing. It was the same when I was in school, sometimes I wouldn’t get a good mark on an assignment and I’d almost train harder in skiing.”
This sense of balance behooved her during COVID-19 too. With the 2020 World Champions canceled, Brittany registered at the Alberta College of Social Workers to earn and went to work with Enviros Wilderness School Association.
Brittany takes these lessons from being an elite athlete and couples them with her life outside of sports to bring a unique perspective to her new role working with teens.
“I take that mentality of ‘if I can be a cross-country skier with one pole, which is obviously more challenging’ and I think about some of the youth and populations I hope to work with in the future, everybody has their challenges but learning to work together to overcome those challenges and maybe even triumph through them, maybe that’s the mentality I try to bring.”
We’re proud of everything that Brittany continues to do, and we’re proud to have her as part of the Classroom Champions community.
- Read the entire Calgary Sun article, Finding balance key for Paralympic athlete Brittany Hudak.
- Learn more about Brittany in the Classroom Champions Athlete Profile Kit that teachers share with students.
- And then learn more about bringing Classroom Champions SEL Foundations Curriculum and Mentorship+ program to your local schools.
