Bowdoin senior forward Camil Blanchet has a lot on his plate while at school. He played every men’s hockey game this season for the Polar Bears, and had been playing lacrosse as well.
Statistically speaking, Blanchet’s contributions have been modest on the ice. He tallied 32 points over 85 career games, and only broke double-digit points in one season with 13 as a sophomore. After that same year, he left the lacrosse team, having appeared in a mere nine games and scooped up nine ground balls.
But besides the rigors of playing a sport and being a full-time student, Blanchet has been very active doing charity work in his community. That constant overtime presence has had a can’t-miss impact. To that point, Blanchet is one of five finalists for the 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Name a Bowdoin-sanctioned service project, and chances are Blanchet has taken part. His leadership qualities have manifested themselves through his liaising role between the campus’ community-service office and his peers. He has allies with the Polar Bears football team to raise funds for cancer research. And he enlisted hockey roster-sized groups of volunteers for a multi-charity half-marathon (Race the Runway) and a leadership training program (Breaking the Bubble).
The McKeen Common Good Center sees Blanchet’s shadow at a rate that rivals any classroom or athletic facility on campus. McKeen helps students connect with the community of Brunswick, Maine, and encourages them to volunteer and help the relationship between the school and the town.
Blanchet was drawn to this aspect of the Bowdoin experience when he was a candidate for admission. And now that all of his competitive athletic endeavors are behind him, community involvement will join his studies as the one aspect that will fill every week of his tenure there.
Pucks and Recreation recently got the chance to speak with Blanchet about his charity work.
How and when did you first hear about the McKeen Common Good Center?
In my application to Bowdoin, one of the essays explained the history of the McKeen Center and what they currently do. One of the first big events of the school year isn’t a football game, it’s Common Good Day. This is a day when over 500 students, faculty and staff participate in community building activities around the greater Brunswick area one Saturday afternoon. That was my first direct interaction with the McKeen Center.
What was the fundraiser you worked on with the football team?
The football team was selling neon pink, long-sleeve shirts in a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. A group of representatives from the Breaking the Bubble initiative wanted to expand the fundraiser and have our respective teammates participate. It was pretty easy to order more shirts. The football team raised the majority of the final donation. Getting other teams involved and supporting the fundraiser was a cool thing to see.
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