On a Tuesday afternoon, Hannah is at the Scotiabank Saddledome—home ground of the Calgary Flames—which also happens to be her office.
“I didn’t believe I was actually going to work here until I officially got the offer, and it still doesn’t seem real,” she says, giddy with excitement about her role in sales for the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation.
She is far away from her own hometown of Exeter in Huron County, Ontario, where she played ice hockey for the London Devilettes and grew up in a close-knit, vibrant community. “People in Huron are very community-oriented; everybody is there for each other and helps each other out.”
Throughout her high school years at St Anne’s Catholic High School, Hannah was an active member of her community as well. She was a Student Trustee at her school, raising her voice on issues that impacted students and a Minister of Faith on the student cabinet, where she helped shape an inclusive school environment.
In 2019, for her contributions, she received the McCall Huron County Scholarship, a program created to recognize purpose-driven, community-focused students in Marcy McCall MacBain’s hometown.
“I remember hearing about this new scholarship and was inspired by Marcy, who had come from our little area and had gone all across the world and made a really big impact in different areas,” says Hannah.
Aside from the financial aspect, I felt like this would connect me with some really great people and help me spend time on both extracurricular and leadership opportunities.
– Hannah Tait
Hannah’s early academic interests pulled her towards a degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Guelph. But within the first year, she felt her interests shift to business.
“I remember having a conversation with someone at the Foundation, thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, they are going to be disappointed.’ But they were very supportive and encouraging about me finding clarity on what my path is,” she recollects.
Aided by the scholarship, Hannah was able to balance the arduous demands of coursework and sports training, excelling at both. She received the Ted Symons Award for obtaining the highest grade in Corporate Social Responsibility and the W.F. Mitchell Sportswoman of the Year for her contributions to the success of the women’s hockey program, including representing Canada at the FISU World University Games.
“The Scholarship provided financial ease and the freedom to fully embrace opportunities that allowed me to grow as a student-athlete, teammate, and individual,” she says. Outside of the classroom and the arena, she also contributed to her faculty, participating in Enactus and putting together a conference on sustainability in business.
Sports can be a powerful conduit for community-building and leadership. Driven by her love for hockey and her hometown values of showing up for community, Hannah volunteered as Player Ambassador for Hockey Gives Blood, organizing blood drives for Canadian Blood Services, and mentored younger student-athletes for the Gryphons Leadership Academy.
“These experiences strengthened my interpersonal skills while helping me discover how deeply I value sport as a way to build community, confidence, and connection,” she adds.
For Hannah, though, hockey just felt like a passion. Her career interests largely revolved around business, and it wasn’t until she did her co-op with the Athletics Department, where she led marketing and design, that she was able to connect the dots on how to bring them together. “I think that helped me learn that there’s a whole world of working in sports, and you could apply business and finance skills to sports.”
After graduating, she paused her job search for a year to go play professional hockey in Vienna, Austria, which she describes as an adventure. All aspects of the game were different from what Hannah was used to: the drills, the ice rinks, the way they travelled, including the snacks in the dressing room! “It was the first time I was playing on a team where my teammates didn’t speak my language,” she says. This experience helped her grow and build skills to adjust to new environments, which ultimately made moving to Calgary, when opportunity called, easier.
In her current role, she continues to nurture community through sport, coordinating team outings, facilitating programs that connect seasoned players with younger players, working with nonprofit and social clubs to leverage the team’s popularity for good causes, creating tailored experiences for fans, and making games more accessible through discounted ticketing.
I am grateful that the scholarship gave me the freedom to dive into my passions, both professionally and personally, and discover how I can use sport to create meaningful experiences and connections.
– Hannah Tait
Hannah’s word of advice for young students is not to worry about having it all figured out, resonating with one of the key values of the McCall Huron County Scholarships, which pushes students to try new things, have different experiences, and use opportunities to discover who they are, what they are good at, and what they want to be, even if not all at once.
“Dream big; you fully can achieve everything, even if it seems far away. You can get to where you want to be over time; don’t be afraid to fail or not have it all figured out at the same time,” says Hannah.