From Hockey to Healthcare, Corbin’s Award Story

Meet Corbin 

“My name is Corbin Mariash, and I am a 22-year-old born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I started to pursue the Award when I was 16 years old at my French immersion high school Collège Béliveau. During my high school years, I competed in many sports, hockey, soccer, track and field, tennis, golf… everything! I’ve always loved staying active while pushing myself every day to be better. When this program was presented to our school, it sparked excitement for me as it was a new challenge that I could work on while doing all the things I love doing.  

Physical Activity – Hockey  

During my Bronze and Silver Awards, I selected hockey as my main activity since it is my true passion. During this time frame, I was able to make the jump from the Provincial AAA Winnipeg Bruins to the MJHL with the Neepawa Natives. Throughout my career, I had nothing but great coaches who were dedicated to the game and helped me become the best hockey player I could be. I learned that hockey is more than just a game but also filled with life lessons that shaped me into the person I am today. 

Motivation  

During my hockey journey, I found that the Award kept me motivated to continue to give back to the hockey community. Even after a long road trip or busy hockey schedule, I was able to make time to coach or help out at the 6 am breakfast club skates. This driven motivation followed me throughout my time playing hockey and didn’t go unnoticed as I received the 2018-2019 RBC, MJHL Community Ambassador award. 

Goal Setting  

Growing up, I always tried to be the hardest worker on the team, I was never the most skilled, but I would give it 110% every time I stepped on the ice. I set goals that I knew I could achieve every game, no matter the final score or outcome of the game, whether it was being the hardest worker, being positive, or trying to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. I knew if I could bring those things to the table every game, I would develop into a better hockey player. 

From Player to Coach 

Growing up, being at the rink every day made me realize how fortunate I was to have so many great mentors and coaches who devoted their time teaching me how to be a good hockey player. Not only did they teach me to become a good hockey player, but also many life lessons that followed me throughout my career and today as a firefighter-paramedic. With all the life lessons and skills I’ve learned through hockey, I found it essential to give back to the community and help make a difference by being a hockey coach that young players could look up to and learn from. 

Pursuing Passions  

In a lot of ways, I believe the Award did have an impact on the career choice I selected. I’ve always felt the need to help and give back to the community, and the Award helped me discover that this is something I enjoyed doing at an earlier age. As a firefighter-paramedic, I get the opportunity to help people on their worst days and save lives while doing a job that I am passionate about. 

Passion to Purpose  

In 2019 I was fortunate to attend P2P in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. During my time there, I spent time in workshops and listened to some fantastic guest speakers. I learned how to start a project within the community but was indecisive on which part of the community I wanted to help out and how I could. I continued to listen and learn during my time in Wolfville with the intent to come up with something original within my community. That’s when I realized that the “something” was able to volunteer and assist my Mother, the Director of a Non-Profit Government Subsidized Daycare Centre. She works full time but also volunteers to pick up food donations from various organizations in Winnipeg, which then donates to the families within the low-income surrounding community. With the skills I had learned at P2P, I have been able to assist my Mother with the food challenges many low-income family communities face.   

You Should Join 

I will encourage you to join the Award if you’re looking to challenge yourself to become a more well-rounded individual within your community and looking for opportunities that the Award will present to you as it has for me! The possibilities are endless, and if you’ve made it this far, I hope I’ve encouraged you to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award after reading my story!” 

• Corbin, Bronze and Silver Award Achiever and Passion to Purpose Alumni Summer 2019 

We are so proud of Corbin for his accomplishments. We hope he has inspires you to Join The Award, Volunteer with The Award, Become an Award Centre, or Learn about Passion to Purpose.  

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