TORONTO - George Brown College Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of Mélanie Gérin-Lajoie as the new athletics manager.

Gérin-Lajoie joins the Huskies after nine years at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. She worked her way up from an intern to the manager of sport development, a role she held for over four years. A standout on the basketball court, the bachelor of commerce, marketing and economics graduate from McGill University played for the women's varsity basketball team. Now joining the Huskies, she wants to continue that rich athletic tradition.

"I was really looking forward to getting back into a varsity athletics environment," Gérin-Lajoie said. "I understand both sides, having played and worked within varsity athletics at McGill, and am excited to join the competitive culture while also getting the recreational athletes involved in extracurricular activities."

Along with her knowledge of high performance athletes from coaching within the Toronto Lords basketball club, she also has a commitment to academics. As a two-time academic all-Canadian, Gérin-Lajoie wants to help each varsity athlete achieve success both in their studies and their sport.

But it does not stop there for the Toronto native. She is looking to grow the recreational program at George Brown College and improve student participation rates.

"We want as many students to get involved and get active as possible," she said. "The research is conclusive that a healthy lifestyle can help students succeed and we want to engage them, which will enhance their student experience. Providing more opportunities will help attract those members of the College who do not necessarily fit within the traditional recreational activities mold."

Gerard Hayes, director of student experience, is pleased to have Gérin-Lajoie on board and is confident she will be a great fit for the Huskies.

"We are pleased to have Melanie join the student services and campus life team. Her experience in athletics and her work in the community will definitely help enhance the athletic and recreation programs at George Brown College," Hayes said. "She brings strong management skills from her work with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and she will provide proven leadership to the experienced athletic staff."

With the school year just around the corner, Gérin-Lajoie is eager to get started and build a winning culture at George Brown.

"There are some strong programs at George Brown, but I want to see everyone get up to the same compete level within the OCAA so that prospective student-athletes are encouraged and excited to  approach us and say 'I want to play here.' There is a strong and rich athletic history at the College, and I want to work to build that profile back up to where it deserves to be."

Source: George Brown College