Starting football in high school, Stephane East, Comm ’23, was a bit of a latecomer to the sport, as most of his teammates had played throughout childhood. Now, he’s been invited to the Canadian Football League (CFL) Combine.
East chose Queen’s University for two reasons: their Commerce program and their football coaching staff.
“Queen’s taught me a lot of life skills, on and off the field,” East said. “The system within football helped me academically, and just to be a better person, like what Coach Snyder says, to be the most respected team on campus, and to always strive to keep improving every single day.”
East said he loved the culture at Queen’s, especially within the football program. He worked hard on the team and now could go to the CFL.
East’s season was cut short this year following an injury towards the ends of the season. He saw the most game time he had throughout his time with Queen’s this season.
“I feel like I’ve played the best I’ve ever played,” East said. “I got to really showcase as much of my skills as possible before I got injured.”
East noted another season hightlight—the game that brought the Gaels came the closest they had been to beating U SPORTS powerhouses, the Western Mustangs, on Sept. 16.
“We proved that Western is obviously beatable, and just the effort that everyone put in throughout the week, training for that, and the preparation we did—it’s not easy,” he said.
This season, East had 12 solo tackles in six games. He’s had 23 total tackles in 16 games in his career with the Gaels.
Being a rookie and dealing with COVID-19, East didn’t suit up for his first game until his third year, where he had eight tackles. In his fourth year, he broke his collarbone, setting him back again. Near the end of this year, he injured his knees.
He said his injuries have been his biggest setback.
“You just got to keep your head straight and just keep training and hope for the best and keep going,” he said.
Throughout his time in football, East said the friendships he fostered were his favourite part, along with learning several life skills and developing his work ethic.
“You just keep your head straight and just keep working because at the end of the day, the effort you put in is the output you will receive,” he said.
Moving beyond football, East plans to dive into the realm of finance and private equity. He’s looking into taking the Chartered Financial Analyst exam.
“Obviously football doesn’t last forever. So, even though I’m trying to make it last as long as possible, I know that the next steps are to start looking at my career path and what I’m interested in,” he said.
Despite graduating, East is still cheering on the Gaels, and he can’t wait to go to the CFL Combine representing the team.
Other Gaels attending the CFL Combine include Ryan Berta, ArtSci ’24, Jared Chisari, MSc ’25, Anthony Soles, ArtSci ’24, Olivier Muembi, ArtSci ’24, and Van Wishart, Kin ’24.
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