Stephen Buchanico Capstone

Hockey is something I have become very passionate about and has continued to make a huge impact on my life as I grew up so I knew I wanted to do something related to hockey for my senior capstone. My initial idea was to attempt to raise money for Snider, the organization that has allowed me to play hockey from a young age regardless of my family's financial standing. This was difficult for me because I couldn’t think of a practical way to raise a substantial sum of money that would be useful to the organization while also struggling with the logistics of paying for ice time. With this defeat, I sparked the idea to organize a roller hockey tournament, being since all outdoor roller rinks are free for public use. I used my Snider contacts to gather the children who would participate in the tournament and then the rest was a breeze. I discussed rink times with those in charge of the playground rink to coordinate which days the rink would be in use and when it would be open for the tournament. Once the day was decided, I contacted all of the children involved, who were excited to participate. The young boys, aged 12-15 years old, had experience with hockey so they got right into playing while I supervised and refereed the games. It was wonderful to have organized an event where my passion created a sense of community and happiness.