Katherine Purchase Running for CASA’s VP Academic

Stingers Women’s Hockey Team’s Starting Goalie Ready for New Role

SportsHarrison-Milo Rahajason — Published February 11, 2018

Katherine Purchase, who has started nine games for the Stingers this season and has helped her team reach ninth place in U Sports’ national rankings, will be running unopposed to become the Commerce and Administration Students Association’s vice president of academics.

After serving as CASA’s assistant vice president of academics, she’s ready to step into her new role in student politics while balancing it with hockey.

The Halifax native says she organizes her class schedule so that she can be as productive as possible during her free time. She studies for her classes and does work for CASA during her time off to make sure she can have a clear mind when she steps onto the ice.

As part of her platform, Purchase is looking to expand tutorial services for all John Molson School of Business students by continuing to promote CASA+, a free tutorial phone app for JMSB students, and by launching a crowd-sourced note-sharing website.

Concordia head coach Julie Chu has no doubt that her goalie will excel in her commitments to her executive team at CASA, as well as to her hockey team.

“[Purchase] embodies, for us, what we want in student-athletes,” said Chu. “She’s a tremendous student, she takes great pride in her academic side and she excels at it. She’s also one of the hardest working players on our team, she comes prepared from summer training and she pushes to get better.”

Purchase is a team-first teammate, Chu added, which is why she isn’t surprised to see her up for a big role in student politics.

Stingers forward Claudia Dubois echoed her coach’s statement.

“[Purchase] is just crazy,” said Dubois. “On the ice she’s awesome to watch play, and she’s so smart in her everyday life. With school and hockey, she can easily manage those two things at the same time and it’s impressive to see.”

With two games left in the regular season, her team sits just three point behind the Carabins for first place in the RSEQ standings. The Stingers face the Carabins on Feb. 17 where they’ll have a chance to catch up with them in the standings with a regulation win.

Regardless, she’s confident in what her team can accomplish the rest of the season. She also hopes she can leave a lasting legacy with CASA.

“My fifth and final year is going out with a bang,” said Purchase. “Hopefully I don’t burn myself out.”