Sharp skates, sharp minds: An unbreakable bond on and off the ice

By CUW Athletic Communications Student Assistant Alex Loding

MEQUON, Wis. — It's 5 a.m. and the alarm clock is blaring as all five teammates groan and roll out of bed. After showering and packing food for the day, these five women put on their scrubs and grab their skates on their way out the door. Their first stop is the hospital for their 6 a.m. nursing clinical. Spending eight hours in a hospital setting is fatiguing, but luckily, it's close enough to the Ozaukee Ice Rink. They all hop in their cars and head to the rink for a 4 p.m. practice. After head coach, Steve Fabiilli, runs the women through two hours of drills, it's time for film study before heading back to the library to study for three more hours.  

This is the typical day of a nursing major who also spends most of their time on the ice. Seniors, Sam Lombardi, Issy Bilton, Natasha Wanless, Breanna Thomson, and Emily Godwin, all play for Steve Fabiilli on the CUW women's hockey team and all are study nursing at Concordia Wisconsin. Four of the five also share another connection as they hail from Ontario, Canada. They all start their day at 6 a.m., go to class, study, practice and don't finish until late at night... every single day.  

"It's hard," exclaimed Bilton, Wanless and Lombardi when describing their typical day.  

"The hardest part is making sure you have food to eat," Bilton said with a laugh.  

Their days vary from being out of season to being in season. The five seniors have clinicals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but an off-season day consists of clinicals or class all day, afternoon lifts and then conditioning on the football field. A typical in-season day includes lifting at 7 a.m., going to class, then having morning conditioning before heading back to class for two hours. After class, grabbing lunch and heading out to the rink for practice. 'Before you know it is seven o'clock and you've barely eaten anything, and you have to make dinner before studying for three hours.'  

"It's hard!" Lombardi repeated. "Having hockey forces you to manage your time better because you know you'll be traveling on most weekends so you're like 'what homework do I have and what should I bring with me that's easy.'"  

Not only is hockey one of the most demanding sports, but nursing is the most demanding major offered at CUW due to GPA requirements and countless hours of studying. Not many people can do it.  

"A major thing in my decision was to get an education and play the sport that I love," added Lombardi.  

Due to the demands of sports and nursing, most colleges don't allow students to do both.  

"Schools in Canada don't recommend doing nursing and a sport, so it is awesome to go to a school that could help you pursue both," said Bilton.  

There are reasons why. In the nursing program, the grading scale is different than that of typical undergrad students. For example, a 'C' in the nursing program is an 84 percent and below a 78 percent is considered a failing grade, compared to a grade of 59 percent and below is failing and an 84 percent corresponds to a 'B' for typical undergrad students. Performing in the classroom is as important as performing on the ice but proves to be a struggle.  

"I struggled with that for a while. Now after two-plus years I think I'm kind of getting it," explained Wanless, the senior forward. "Coach really pushed me. He always checks on our grades so when he sees a 'C+' on your grade, he's like 'what is going on?' but man it's an 84% and I'm trying. Coach pushes us to be better so when I was struggling, he was always on the backburner pushing me to get my stuff together."  

Besides the pressure on and off the ice, all five seniors have their different reasons for wanting to study nursing. All of their reasons revolved around the idea of helping others and giving back.  

"For me, it was seeing family members in the hospital and me wanting to make a difference. I want to make sure I am contributing to [patients] in a positive way," explained Bilton.  

"I spent some time in the hospital when I was young, and I wanted to give back to others who have to be in the hospital. I want to help them and give back," added Lombardi.  

Wanless has her own personal reason as well. "I knew since I was little. I always dressed up in doctor outfits, and I always wanted stethoscopes and Band-Aids," said Wanless. "I was always wanting to 'doctor up' someone."  

With the daily struggles of hockey and nursing, it would be difficult to handle on one's own. However, that is not the case for this tight-knit group of seniors. They have been through the highs and lows of a semester together since they arrived in August of 2016.  

"It's comforting knowing that all of us are studying nursing, so we were all in the same boat, doing the same thing. We always had each other to fall back on and pick each other up," said Wanless. "On away trips it's super easy because you literally have your study group right there on the bus."  

Having five best friends not only benefits their play on the ice, but also benefits their work in the classroom. All five seniors have kept each other afloat for their four years at CUW.  

"I would have been failing without them because I would have forgotten random assignments," chimed in Bilton. "I'm thankful that I had them and that I get my work done right then and there with everything that is going on."  

This five-way relationship extends beyond the ice and the classroom. These five seniors are there for each other no matter what. They all have high expectations of each other and are the first ones to lift each other up when things are looking down.  

"I'm grateful for all of us because our class of seniors has been the closest on the team ever," said Lombardi.  

Spending so much time together on and off the ice has created a sister-like bond between the five of them.  

"We've had our bumps down the road, but we always figure it out," added Wanless.  

"There's no time to fight or hold a grudge for even a day because we have to study together and see each other every morning," explained Lombardi. "We're close for sure and I wouldn't want it any other way."  

All five seniors are set to graduate in May but for four of them some logistics must fall into place. Due to four of the five being from out of the country, they must apply for work visas or even permanent citizenship if they intend to stay in the United States. Those four, Bilton, Godwin, Lombardi and Thomson, are no strangers to the long, tedious process of obtaining said visas as they had to apply and maintain documentation throughout their four years at Concordia. There are up to 185 different visas that come from two distinct categories, nonimmigrant and immigrant.  

"Stressful!" exclaimed Lombardi and Bilton when describing the application process. "It can be a mess!"  

Before attending CUW, they had to apply for multiple visas for school purposes and fill out their paperwork online and in person at the immigration services office. Every year in school, it was required to get their F1 document updated and signed. Upon entering and exiting the country, they must prove that they are going to school by showing a student schedule or bill, while also receiving numerous stamps in their passports.  

"They [immigration services] can be kind of crazy," Bilton added with a chuckle. "These visas expire when we are done with school... then they can kick us out."  

Being from outside the United States adds another level of stress and the long application process adds another item on their long to-do list before they walk across the stage in caps and gowns.  

Upon graduation this coming May, these five plan on entering the professional medical field. Bilton plans on working in the ICU department of whichever hospital she lands a job at. She also has plans of becoming a travel nurse before pursuing her goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. Wanless has her eyes set on becoming a pediatric nurse back in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and has goals of working in the Children's Memorial Hospital of Madison. Lombardi plans on staying in the Milwaukee-area while she works on obtaining her medical-surgical license. After some years in Wisconsin, she plans on specializing in labor and delivery while working back in Canada and eventually becoming a nurse practitioner.  

As for the others, goaltender, Breanna Thomson, has definite plans on moving back to what she calls her "country bumpkin, the tiniest town you ever did see" home of St. Mary's, Ontario and working as a pediatric nurse. Defender, Emily Godwin, plans on staying in the Milwaukee area with line-mate Lombardi and working as an emergency room nurse.  

"It's been a long and fun ride together. I'm sad it's almost over," said Lombardi.   

These five seniors are a cut above the rest and thankfully, they get a break. They are off for the month of December but look to get back in action and start the New Year when they face off against St. Benedict on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 at the Ozaukee Ice Center.