Athletes using sport as a way to achieve educational success isn't anything new. Scholarships are handed out all the time to those who are at the top of their chosen athletic endeavours as well as at the top of the class.

Jack Works, of Yellowknife, is one of those who managed to score a coveted scholastic award and has made very good use of it.

The 23-year-old is in his senior year at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan, and is a forward with the men's hockey team. He's been at the school since the start of the 2022-23 school year after transferring from Denver University in Colorado during the off-season that year.

"Getting an education while playing hockey was always something I thought about," said Works. "If I did well enough, I'd get that chance, and having a degree to show for it is always impressive to have."

Works went to Range Lake North School in Yellowknife from kindergarten to Grade 7 before moving to Calgary to attend The Edge, a sports-intensive school that sees students spend part of the day in class and another part working on their chosen sport.

From there, Works earned himself a spot with the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), where he spent parts of four seasons. He would go on to set team records in goals (43) and points (92) during the 2019-2020 season, records that still stand today.

It was during that record-setting season in Okotoks that he first started drawing interest from post-secondary institutions.

"I was invited to the training camp for the World Junior A Challenge and I was talking to Denver," he said. "They made me the offer right there at camp and I accepted it."

The Covid-19 pandemic took hold in 2020 and virtually halted anything having to do with sport in March of that year. The 2020-21 AJHL season began with capacity regulations in place, but it was shut down after three games due to the second big wave of Covid-19 spreading in Alberta.

It was then that Works decided to head to Denver in December 2020, taking advantage of a provision put in place by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) that gave all collegiate athletes in the U.S. an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.

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He made his official debut with Denver in February 2021 against the University of Nebraska-Omaha and registered an assist during the game, which ended in a 5-4 overtime defeat.

Reaching the pinnacle

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The move to Michigan Tech came after the school approached him and asked if he would be interested in transferring.

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It seems to have paid off as he's captaining the team in his senior year, his last in collegiate hockey. He actually graduated in December 2024 with a bachelor of business and is now working toward his master of business administration.

"I have up to two years to get it and I can do it online if I want to," said Works. "I could stay and do it, but I won't be able to play with the team anymore after this season."

As for any professional hockey aspirations, Works said there are some potential rods in the water, but didn't want to get specific about them.

Going from the Canadian education system to the American system didn't present a major a change in terms of learning, said Works, with only minor differences in terms of subject matter.

"I learned about the history of the state of Michigan," he said. "Other than that, it really isn't too different. I thought it would be, but it's mostly just studying specialized courses."

If there's any advice Works would give anyone thinking about pursuing an education through sports, he said make sure you keep working hard.

"I always made sure to keep my grades up and work hard in the classroom," he said. "If you don't have the grades, you won't get any offers, even if you're a great athlete. That was something my parents always told me and that's what kids need to remember."

For more stories and a list of scholarships for NWT and Nunavut students, see Degrees of Success here.