Four years ago, Hedda Gjerde packed her bags and left Hoenefess, Norway to play hockey at Carleton. She said her many years in Canada have shown her how nice the country is and how similar the cultures are between Canada and Norway.
Gjerde started out at Carleton in criminology but switched to psychology, which is what she will obtain a degree in at the end of this year.
In four seasons as a defenceman with the Carleton Ravens women’s hockey team, Gjerde appeared in 42 regular season games, while scoring two goals and four assists along the way.
The Charlatan spoke with Gjerde about her time at Carleton, her hockey career, and her plans after university.
The Charlatan (TC): How did you get into hockey?
Hedda Gjerde (HG): I started playing when I was around eight or nine years old and I was just basically trying any sport with three of my best guy friends. One of them found hockey and we all just kind of got hooked. I have been playing ever since.
TC: What was your favourite part about playing at Carleton?
HG: I would say it’s the atmosphere. You are playing hockey like you could do anywhere else but . . . for me, living so far from home, it’s like I have a family here automatically.
Also, with the staff surrounding the team we have all these privileges that not a lot of even Canadian schools have with doctors, athletic trainers, and sports psychologists. There’s so many things that we get that not everyone else does.
TC: What was one of the most memorable moments for you?
HG: Off the top of my head, this season when we beat McGill in a regular season game. We wrote history with this game because the women’s team had yet to accomplish that. We got a new head coach [Pierre Alain] last year so we are rebuilding the program with a lot of new first-years, . . . that was a big stepping stone for the program.
TC: Who have been your biggest mentors along the way?
HG: Honestly, my mom. Even though she’s back home it’s always been her that I turn to. I have obviously had players on my team that I have looked up to as well. To mention one, a former player, her name is Sara Seiler, and she is actually the team manager now. She’s from Germany and she has played in a couple of Olympics and played for the German national team, so she has definitely been someone I have looked up to.
My first-year and second-year coach Shelley Coolidge also helped me adapt to Canadian culture and just playing in Canada.
TC: What was it like being the only foreign player on the team?
HG: It’s different. I mean we have a lot of French girls this year, which they also have their issues adapting with language. Some of them struggle more with English than I do but it’s hard because the other girls try to relate but they don’t really know what it’s like. It’s tough for them to know the day-to-day struggles that I go through to understand; even though I speak the language it is still very foreign to me.
TC: What will you miss most about Carleton?
HG: I’ll miss the girls and the team. Also the bubble you live in with having a daily routine, and leaving that university bubble is going to be tough. I’ll miss the friends I have made here but I will definitely come back and visit.
TC: What are your plans for next year?
HG: I am moving back home to Norway in July and I plan on continuing playing hockey on the pro team in Oslo. I will work for a year and eventually I want to get into policing school in Norway.
