Student-Athletes of the Month | Jiri Klima Profile

This month, we’d like to highlight the academic achievements of forward Jiri Klima.

The Czech-born skater arrived in Quebec in the summer of 2023. He couldn’t speak a word of French but has continued to perfect his English while pursuing his schooling in that language.

However, Jiri arrived with a strong desire to learn the French language this past summer. After asking him about his different motivations, he presented us with a project based on a desire to be able to communicate better with his community, in their language, as well as being able to interact better with his teammates, staff members and billet family.

Through his Social Science courses, he started a French language class when he returned to school. He puts a lot of effort into his lessons and homework and is proud to share his new learnings with his close ones. He is very consistent in his study periods and progresses at an impressive pace in his classes. He is assiduous and serious about his work, which is a gage of success.

We’d like to point out that Jiri is following his courses online. Therefore, he faces the challenge of being well organized and managing his time, which he does in an exemplary way.

What’s more, he’s succeeding in every one of his courses, despite the fact that they are taught in English, which is not his mother tongue.

We wanted to highlight Jiri’s approach to his schooling, and to say that it’s a credit to him, and shows just how much this young man is investing in his hockey project despite being so far from home.

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Written by Mélanie Durou, Academic Advisor for the Shawinigan Cataractes