If you’ve attended an SMC Men’s Hockey game in the last two years, then I am sure you have noticed how talented Colin Biebel (#25) is on the ice. Despite his talents on the ice, he is invovled with a lot more on campus and off the ice, which make him well known in the SMC community. His involvement with SAAC, Hope Happens Here and the Freshman Orientation Process has deemed him an honorary guy at SMC. Meet this weeks SMCVT campus cutie: Colin Biebel.
YOG: 2019
Hometown: Roxborough Park, CO
Major: Double major in Business Administration and Economics
HerCampus: How did you find Saint Michael’s College and why did you end up choosing to go there?
Colin Biebel: I spent 2 years after high school playing junior hockey. While playing in Walpole, I was recruited by the SMC coaching staff.
HC: What is your favorite thing about playing Saint Mike’s hockey?
CB: My teammates are definitely my favorite part.
HC: What is your favorite thing about SMC?
CB: My favorite part of SMC is the community and support. I really like how students support other students around campus.
HC: Word on the street is you are going to be helping take over Hope Happens Here when seniors Danny Divis and Justin McKenzie graduate, are you excited to be doing this? Any big plans for the organization?
CB: Yes, I will be taking over with a few others. I’m very excited to take on this role and spread mental health awareness and information. As for the future of Hope Happens Here, we have received a lot of interest from colleges around the country to start their own chapters. To do this, I’m working really hard with Justin McKenzie, Danny Divis, and the rest of the leadership group to turn Hope Happens Here from a student run group into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. From here, we can have different chapters across the US at different institutions.
HC: I heard you attended a confrence this past weekened, can you explain what the confrence was and how you got invovled in it?
CB: I was recently appointed to be the NE-10 representative for the NCAA Division II Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). To basically explain it, I’m the student-athlete voice for the 291 Varsity Men’s and Women’s teams in the NE-10. I received this appointment by being on the SMC SAAC (acronyms are awesome) and applying for it by submitting my resume and writing an essay. The NCAA then holds conferences that I have to attend. This past weekend there was one in Indianapolis. The NCAA brings all the reps from the different DII conferences across the United States to Indianapolis. My day consisted of sitting in a conference room with the 26 other diverse student-athlete DII conference representatives. It is a completely student run meeting and each representative has their own microphone to express their opinion. Each representative was from a different part of the US, with a different sport, different major, and different perspective. We make decisions on getting student athletes to become more involved, the DII budget, who gets honors and awards, and protecting the student-athletes physical and mental health. Overall, the experience was incredible. I met some really interesting, passionate, and fun student-athletes.
HC: What advice do you have for freshmen coming into SMC in the fall of 2017?
CB: I would recommend to incoming Freshman to get involved and have conversations with other students around campus. Everyone at SMC is genuine and has their own story and perspective. You’ll meet some really awesome people just by starting a conversation.