Brayden Bertrand considers his greatest accomplishment to be time management.
A Grade 12 student at École secondaire du Sacré-Coeur, Bertrand volunteers at Centre de santé communautaire du Grand Sudbury while active as an athlete in many sports. He finds juggling his constant practices, volunteer work and studying to be challenging but rewarding.
“I am devoted and show dedication for everything I sign up for,” Bertrand said. “I’m at every practice, perform well in school, and still manage to get tasks done.”
He is deeply involved with athletics, excelling in volleyball, badminton and javelin. But he does not confine himself.
“I also partake in other sports such as tennis, mountain biking, basketball, softball, cross-country running, soccer, chess, hockey, co-ed volleyball and wrestling,” Bertrand said.
While a talented athlete in several sports, Bertrand excels at badminton, winning gold at the Northern Ontario Secondary School Athletics (NOSSA) competition in Grade 9 and qualifying for the same competition by winning the city championship for two straight years.
He has also played volleyball competitively for the Northern Chill Volleyball Association for five years.
But it’s the javelin that seems to be his strength.
“I gave my best performance in javelin at OFFSAA (Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations), and qualified for the great Canadian Legion provincial track meet.”
Bertrand also prides himself on his volunteerism. He assists with coaching and developing the girls’ volleyball team.
“I’m able to practice the sport I love, and help my school at the same time,” he said. “When I volunteer for the Centren (de santé) communautaire, I get the same thing while teaching and exposing the youth to various sports.”
A member of the student council at École secondaire du Sacré-Coeur during his first year in high school, Bertrand enjoyed being part of key decisions. But he had to let that commitment go in order to make time to join the Student Athletics Association. With a generous donation, the association was able to provide the school with 15 good quality bikes.
“With these bikes, I was able to participate in the SDSSA (Sudbury District Secondary Schools’ Athletic Association) competition, and I’m very excited we’ve achieved our goals,” Bertrand said. “We plan on forming a club during after-school hours to teach students and kids in the community.”
He credits his parents for his outlook and attitude toward life.
“My parents taught me discipline and the importance of education. My dad helped me learn key fundamentals to become an athlete, and has spent countless hours coaching and organizing sports in my school. I’ve always looked up to him for what he does. With my mother being a high school principal, and my father being a phys-ed teacher, I’ve had a lot of help with managing my school life.”
Introspective about his final year in high school, Bertrand looks to the future.
“I’m enrolled in mechanical engineering at Laurentian University for September 2025,” he said. “Starting my program, I won’t be as active with the community. I plan to start slowly, but as soon as possible I hope to be coaching sport teams and volunteering for events.”
Brayden Bertrand’s words of inspiration
“I want to let people know how important it is to get involved in activities during high school. Yes, courses will get hard and it seems like you won’t have time. In the end, it won’t be the tests and assignments you’ll remember from school. You’ll look back and remember all the tournaments, school dances and all the amazing friends you made along the way. At first, I hesitated to sign up for things thinking I wouldn’t be able to manage the time but it all worked out. I don’t regret my decision at all.”
James Stewart is a writer in North Bay. Inspire is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.