Peterborough Petes Education Fund Awards Two $500 Scholarships to Local Students

Goaltender Yianni Karkoulas and defenceman Lauren Jeffery are recipients of the Peterborough Petes Education Fund of $500 for the 2022-2023 season.

Jeffery (left) and Karkoulas (right) as members of the U18 Ice Kats AA and Petes U18 AAA respectively. Photo courtesy of the PEterborough Petes.

The players are selected from the Petes U18 AAA and U18 Ice Kats AA by their coaches.

“Yianni is a fantastic kid who comes from a great family,” said Scott Roche, Petes U18 AAA head coach. “He’s extremely self-driven and highly motivated. First on the ice and always the last one off. We had to drag him off the ice sometimes. I coached him for two years and every teammate thought the world of him.”

Karkoulas currently plays for the Aurora Tigers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He aspires to play in the OHL, move on to university hockey and then pursue a professional career. The goalie went to IE Weldon in Lindsay for his high school degree.

“I accept the award as a true honour and compliment to my commitment to the game and an awesome start to my future growth,” said Karkoulas. “I am extremely grateful to the Petes organization for the opportunity.” 

Jay Legault and the U18 IceKats coaching staff selected defenceman Lauren Jeffery as the other recipient.

“Lauren was a pleasure to coach for the last two seasons. She is a quiet leader who understands the game of hockey,” said Legault. “If you are looking for a smart, steady, responsible defence — and everyone is —, then you would be happy to have Lauren on your team.”

Jeffery is attending the University of Dubuque and is playing for their hockey in the NCAA division III league. She graduated from St. Peter Secondary School last June and played defence for the Saints girls hockey team that finished fourth at the AAA OFSAA championships in Windsor last March. 

“I am honoured to be selected for this award since it will contribute to my college fund,” said Jeffery.

The Petes Education Fund is overseen by Mike Martone, president; Rod McGillis secretary and treasurer and Laura Kennedy, vice president. Pat Casey, long-time Peterborough Petes board member and Petes player alumni started the Petes Education fund in the 1980s to help student-athletes further their education. Casey passed away in August.

“We are going to miss Pat Casey incredibly at the rink and helping out with the Petes Ed Fund,” said McGillis. “We all feel honoured and privileged to have known Pat and serve with him. It’s amazing he had the foresight to set up the education fund for the Petes and he knew how important education was to any hockey player and person. He will be dearly missed but we are proud to continue what Pat started.” 

There were $500.00 scholarships distributed to St. Peter, Holy Cross, TASSS, Crestwood, Adam Scott and Kenner each June. The school awards the Petes Education Fund scholarship to a graduating student who has improved themselves through their hard work over their four-year high school career.

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