UMDBulldogs.com Note: In December, a pair of University of Minnesota Duluth student athletes sat down together -- senior track and field standout Savannah Schley, a journalism and communications major at UMD and UMD Athletic Department Communications intern and Clara Van Wieren, a graduate women's hockey forward (and UMD Athletic Director intern). Their conversation centered on Van Wieren and her work in the community, but this interview also highlights the journalism talent of Schley. The following is Schley's entire interview with Van Wieren in her own words.
UMD's Clara Van Wieren is a busy woman. Aside from being a full time student-athlete in her fifth year of Bulldog hockey, she is also the co-presidents of both the Bulldog Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and of UMD's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (DEI). Not to mention she ALSO manages an internship with Bulldog Athletics, all while preparing in hopes to be drafted to play pro in the spring.
And amongst all of the craziness that is her life, she recently was able to squeeze in a milestone achieved by just 24 Bulldogs before her.
Savannah Schley: Clara, congrats on your 100th career point!!
Clara Van Wieren: Thank you! But it really is to be taken with a grain of salt. I've had the opportunity to compete for a fifth year, and a lot of previous Bulldogs didn't. But it is still pretty cool to be on that list with so many great names.
SS: So you've obviously been doing this hockey thing for quite a long time. Is there anything particularly special about this season, as it's your very last here at UMD?
CVW: I'm really just trying to get the most out of everything and make sure I leave a positive impact. I've focused on maintaining strong connections with my teammates and coaches, and just making the most of everything.
SS: And when it comes to making the most of everything, you really are DOING everything. One of the many things you do that is pretty interesting to me is your position as Volunteer Coordinator for the Women's Hockey Team. Can you explain a little bit more about what you do in this role?
CVW: Yeah, so this year, our team has really gotten into volunteering. It's something we've really seemed to adopt as a team.
This past summer, our program got a new head coach, and I was one of the women who was fortunate enough to be a part of the head search committee for her. So many of the applicants focused on how important that committee service aspect was to them, and hearing about this kind of inspired us all to make volunteering more of a priority within our program.
Over the summer, I started planning some events for our team to do before school started up. We took the first week we all got back here in August and dedicated it to community service.
SS: That's a really special way to approach preseason bonding.
CVW: Yeah, and I feel like it actually gave back to us as a team more than it gave back to those we were serving. The projects brought us together as a team and gave us a common mission outside of hockey.
That first week we volunteered at Seven Stars Horse Ranch which does leadership training for women and veterans, which has actually been one of our continual favorites. We also did cleanups at the Duluth Children's Museum and Park Point Beach.
Another thing our team has done that I feel has made a huge impact is volunteering with the U12 and U10 Icebreakers, which are girl's hockey teams here in Duluth. We get to do that about every other week.
And now that U12 team comes to almost all of our games–
SS: Aww so cool!!
CVW: It's really been a lot of fun. We get to hear them screaming our names from the stands.
SS: And as your team's volunteer coordinator, you're tasked with the administrative duties correct? Connecting personally with these organizations and people to set things in motion?
CVW: Yes and I love it. It's been super cool to make new connections with community members and meet so many new people.
SS: And piggybacking off that- your internship within the athletics department– do you feel like it's been a really good door opener for you? When it comes to pushing for initiatives that are important to you and your team/orgs., has it been helpful to have close connections with the people that can help make them happen?
CVW: Oh absolutely. Having close relationships with so many in the department is so special and it's been so cool to see how responsive they are to our crazy ideas with SAAC, and how supportive they are of our DEI initiatives. If we have an idea, they ask how they can make it happen.
SS: Do you have a favorite service opportunity or campaign that you've worked on? You've been a part of so many so I imagine that's a bit difficult.
CVW: That's a good question. I would say– and this could be because it's fresh in my mind– but our Holiday SAAC initiative was amazing. This is the first year we've done it, and I think what made it so special is the direct impact we were able to see that it had.
We partnered with the Food Forward organization here in Duluth, which is a nonprofit for women and children in need living in the Central Hillside. Food Forward typically provides free or subsidized food for the same 36 families weekly, and with their help, we were able to provide these same families with gifts for the Holidays.
First we went shopping for the gifts through SAAC and then some of us actually went and volunteered in the Food Forward kitchen as well. They have such a great community vibe and it was so fun being a part of it.
Last night, we packed up the gifts we bought through SAAC and student athletes decorated gift bags and wrote cards to the families—
SS: Aww such a personalized touch.
CVW: Yeah, that's 100% the feeling we wanted it to have. Being able to do it ourselves and see the impact it was going to make on these families was so rewarding.
SS: Aww, I love that. Another thing that needs to be addressed is that you are in contention for a pretty big award: Hockey Humanitarian. Can you talk a little about what this award represents, and what that honor would mean?
CVW: So the Hockey Humanitarian is an award that Bulldog alumni Gabby Hughes actually won a few years ago. It's an award that looks at you holistically, and examines humanitarian efforts that athletes engage in outside of the sport.
It includes all divisions for men and women in the sport of hockey, and it would obviously be such an honor to receive. A big focus of my life here has been spending time off the ice and working with the Duluth community. It's been such an honor in itself being able to have a platform that allows me to do those things.
SS: You certainly have enough going on! Why is it that you've made service such a priority in your time here as a student-athlete?
CVW: I think we as student-athletes are given so much. We are so blessed to be student athletes and to be born into this. So I want to try to give back a little bit of how lucky I've been.
SS: How are you hoping that this tradition of servitude lives on when you're gone? What steps are you all taking now to ensure this legacy continues?
CVW: Yeah, I 100% hope this continues and remains a part of Bulldog culture. We've always had a big team focus on community service but I really hope the increase of it this year is something that sticks with our team.
I think that having each girl on our team experience being part of these projects gives them the opportunity to build new relationships and form their own connections within the community.
That way, these same girls will be able to take on and lead projects in the future.
SS: That's really cool. That approach kind of leaves an open door for newcomers and underclassmen when it comes to past projects, and also will hopefully provide them the confidence to instill new initiatives that are important to them in the coming years.
CW: Yes, yes, 100%!
SS: So before you hang up your skates here at UMD, is there anything specific that you're hoping to accomplish?
CVW: Good question. I guess I just want to continue to try and make an impact as much as I can for the rest of my time here. I'm really looking forward to certain projects that are coming up.
Right now, the DEI team is working on sponsoring hockey and basketball games for the same women of the Central Hillside that are supported through Food Forward.
We're also hosting an Indigenous-themed movie night in February and I'm really looking forward to that. We're hoping to get together a panel of guest speakers as well as a large turn out of student athletes and provide native food for them to experience.
Another super gratifying project that is kind of ongoing for us would be the anti-racism videos that we created last year to be played at men's hockey games. We are now working on expanding so that the videos will be played before every sporting event here.
It has been really cool figuring out how to approach that, and I think we really did just try to focus on bringing people together as a community before the games, focusing a little less on "us versus them" and a little more on just being together as humankind and enjoying sport.
SS: A great reminder that the games we love to play really are just games at the end of the day.
CVW: Exactly. Those two initiatives are the biggest on my radar right now. My main goal then, would be just to implement those and have them go really well.
If one thing is for certain, it's that Clara Van Wieren has a passion - and honestly quite a knack - for seeing and filling the needs of the Duluth community.
And after chatting with her, I feel quite confident that, in the wake of her legacy, the spirit of giving in Bulldog country will live on for many years to come.
