Video and story contributed by UNE Intern Shannon Upton.
BIDDEFORD, Maine – Without conference competition this fall the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) has decided to recognize a "CCC Person of the Week" during each week in the fall semester. The series will demonstrate that competition is only a small part of what our student-athletes, coaches, and administrators do and serves to highlight the great things they are doing on their own campuses and beyond.
This week we feature Suffolk women's ice hockey student-athlete Stephanie Moy (Burnaby, British Columbia).
Moy, a junior who is majoring in psychology with a minor in education studies, has always been an advocate for social justice. This summer Moy decided that she was going to make a difference raising money for the causes she supports. She spent the month of July baking donuts and selling them around Burnaby and New Westminster, British Columbia with the proceeds going to the Equal Justice Initiative and the Black Youth Helpline of Canada. In all, she sold more than 300 donuts and donated more than $1400.
What made you choose Suffolk?
It was the college city. I'm a city girl, so Boston reminded me of home. The school environment and Coach Taylor [Wasylk] made a huge impact on gravitating me towards going to Suffolk.
What are you majoring in?
I'm majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education studies.
How has balancing academics and hockey been for you?
In high school I was in an academy so we kind of incorporated hockey and school together which made it like a university environment. It wasn't a huge change but obviously there is a lot more effort to put into at university and you get tired a lot. So I think time management is a huge skill that you need to learn.
Do you have any plans after you graduate or do you have any plans on what you want to do?
There are a lot of different fields I want to work in, but I feel like I need to specialize in something, but I'm not so sure yet. I've always been interested in working with children or the criminal justice system.
What are your thoughts about women's hockey joining the CCC and what are your thoughts about Suffolk joining the CCC in general?
I think it's going to be awesome. I think we're going to have the competitions be very close and it is going to be fun and exciting to play against everyone.
What inspired you to take action for the fight for social justice this summer? Where did you get the idea to make and sell donuts from?
I've always been passionate about social justice, specifically racial justice. With the police brutality acts on Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, I wanted to do more than just sign petitions or email officials. I decided to make donuts and I didn't even know I was going to make donuts, but one day I just made them because – quarantine life. I just decided making donuts would be a great way to get donations.
Did you run into any complications at all or was the whole process pretty easy?
I needed a few test runs just to see especially when I was making large batches. That was definitely something I needed to think about and just buying all the ingredients and stuff making sure I had enough.
Do you know how many you sold in total?
I sold over 300 on the weekend of July 24th.
Did you expect to collect as much as you did?
I honestly didn't think anyone would buy them. I only thought that my friends would buy them so I thought that maybe I would get $100.
What made you choose the Equal Justice Initiative and Black Youth Helpline of Canada?
The Equal Justice Initiative is pretty well known, so I knew that the work they did was super impactful and I really like the work that they do and stuff so I wanted to donate somewhere in the States. For the Black Youth Helpline I wanted to donate to some organization that works with youth and also in Canada because we have problems too.
Do you have any plans to continue this into next summer? Maybe getting teammates or friends involved?
People ask me if I'm going to do something like this next summer and I think I will. I think I am going to do something that is a little easier to make. I want to do this and get more help to get more money.
What They're Saying:
"I am very proud of Steph for taking a stand in the fight for social justice. She is a fierce, passionate member of Suffolk Athletics, and to see her using her passion to make positive change in society is an amazing feat for myself, our team, and the entire Suffolk community."
– Taylor Wayslk, Suffolk Head Women's Ice Hockey Coach
Moy Equal Justice Initiative and Black Youth Helpline of Canada
