N.L. student juggles college basketball, engineering courses in U.S.

A young basketball player from Newfoundland and Labrador is making a name for herself on and off the court at one of the oldest universities in the United States.  

Third-year engineering student Hannah Jardine is a small forward for the University of Delaware Blue Hens. 

My major [mechanical engineering] is pretty tough to do with basketball.-Hannah Jardine

The 21-year-old made the jump to the States right after graduating from O'Donel High School in Mount Pearl. 

"It's an extremely different level of play," Jardine told CBC News. 

"Coming from any high school into college you are going to have to step it up but especially coming from a smaller place."

"I think my time with the national team helped me prepare for this ... but even saying that, I still had to make huge changes once I got down here," she said.

Team player

Despite the season ending with the a loss for the Blue Hens in the conference semi-finals, Jardine said she's happy with how her third season unfolded. 

"I just tried to contribute to the team as much as I can. I had a bit of a sickness in the beginning of the conference play so that kind of set me back a little bit but, you know, I continued to work hard and do what I could."

It hasn't been an easy year for the player.

Jardine, a mechanical engineer student, said she works to find a balance between books and basketball. 

"It's been very challenging. In the fall I was taking 17 credits and we were in full pre-season and travelling so I would be missing class for games," she said. 

"I just really had to manage my time. I had to use the weekends, and really any free moment that I had away from basketball had to go towards school work."

Jardine is also co-captain of the Blue Hens, is the second best three-point shooter in the program's history and she averaged 7.9 points per game this season. 

She does this all while maintaining a 2.9 grade-point average.

"I was named to the all conference academic team. One or two players from each team with a high enough GPA is honoured with this award," she said. 

"It was pretty cool for me because my major is pretty tough to do with basketball so I really appreciate that it was recognized."

The only Canadian

As the lone Canadian on her team, Jardine takes time to teach her teammates about home. 

"I think there are two Canadian athletes at the university," said Jardine. 

"It's pretty cool, I get to explain it and talk about it a whole lot because they don't know much about [Newfoundland], so that's been eye-opening for them."

They don't know much about [Newfoundland], so that's been eye-opening for them.- Hannah Jardine

While the basketball season may be over, Jardine said she doesn't plan to take much time off. 

She'll fly home to Newfoundland to see family and friends in June before heading back to the court — and classroom — later this summer. 

"I'll keep training at home and I'll come back to Delaware in July. I'll take a course here over the summer session and then I'll also be able to train with my team and coaches."