NHL player says, "Stay in school!"

Article and Photo by Nadia Fezzani

Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, defenseman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, went to college after high school but did not have the "chance" to end up with a diploma since the NHL drafted him before the end of his program. "Stay in school. Education is the key, especially these days," he says, "You're not going to make a living making $4.99 a hour. (Life) is too expensive."

Grand-Pierre's parents, born and raised in Haiti, moved to Montreal to study. His mother, a nurse, and his father, an ultra-sound medical radiologist, weren't just satisfied to send their only child to school. They sent him to two prestigious schools for elementary and high school. Grand-Pierre then transferred to a public establishment for his College education.

His parents were more interested in school than hockey for their son. "One time, I had bad grades," Jean-Luc says, "so I had to miss two games because of it. After that, it was 'go to school, do well, then you'll play hockey.' "So I pretty much got my grades really good when I was a kid."

Fortunately for him, his efforts paid him very well as he achieved his hockey goals (excuse the pun) but as he knows, life doesn't end there. "I personally didn't finish college because I turned pro but eventually I would love to finish college. Even if it's going to be absolutely useless, I'll be able to tell my kids: 'Hey, I played a professional sport and I finished college so, get your (butt) out there and do it.'"

"Luke" always had good role models for school and his father, Alex, would still like his son to end up with a degree before the end of Jean-Luc' NHL career, if possible. His mother, Micheline, recalls what she was always telling him when he was younger, "You have to study to have a profession. Study, study, study," she mentioned. "You will finish school before anything else."

As if school and hockey wasn't enough, Luke was also playing soccer during the summer. With all of his activities, he had to make sacrifices to get where he wanted. "He never had any time to go out with his friends," Micheline recalls, "He always had practices during the week and he was in his bedroom (studying) during the whole weekend." Since the hockey and soccer seasons sometimes crossed each other, Luke had to make a decision at the age of 12, as to which sport he was going to keep. He obviously opted for hockey.

Jean-Luc's parents knew he wanted to play hockey since he was a kid. His mother still remembers him at 10 years old, talking about his dreams. "He was saying it, he was writing it. He drew a beautiful estate and said, 'I will be a hockey player!'" Luckily for him, he has the chance to live his passion today.

However, he has another hobby that shows a different side of his personality. If you went to Jean-Luc's garage, all you would see is his two cars and his 30 pairs of shoes. "I love my shoes!" he says, "I have so many shoes. I have white, blue, brown, every kind of running shoe you can imagine." "(But) I'm not the type of guy who's going to go to the mall and go 'Oh my God, look at these shoes!' (And) I don't buy a $300 pair of shoes."

He says it's not a passion. He has agreements with sport companies where he wears their equipment on the ice and receives a catalogue in return, from where he has the choice to choose pants, shirts, running shoes, and more. "I get a pair of shoes that goes with every outfit and that's kind of cool."

He also received many hats from different companies and counts about 45 hats in his closet as of now.

Although he receives many free accessories, he also likes to give back to society. Jean-Luc is very active with foundations, especially with the Willie O'Ree All-Star Game. It is an educational program, based in New York, which combines school and hockey for children of minorities. The foundation provides equipment for the kids and a coach follows them with their school notes, making sure the children keep track of school and sports.

This year, the Columbus Blue Jackets were selected by the National Hockey League to host the Seventh Annual Willie O'Ree All-Star Weekend. During that weekend, children from many cities all around America would be chosen to be treated like a star, go for dinner and watch a hockey game.

Jean-Luc always likes to help children, enjoys being part of the NHL committee, and has plenty of potential in many areas. He was the fastest AHL skater in 1999 while being part of the AHL All Star game and won the World Championships at the age of 17 with his Quebec team.