I recently came across a clip where Eric Dane said:

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“Choose your friends wisely. Find your people and allow them to find you. Give yourself to them. The best of them will give back to you no judgment, no conditions, no questions asked. Love your friends with everything you have. They will entertain you, guide you, and some will save you.”

Before seeing or hearing the settlement, I already knew this to be true.

This Valentine’s week felt different.

On February 14, I had the opportunity to honor my dear friend and former teammate, Shanice Clark — a relationship that has shaped me more than I can explain.

For those who don’t know, Shanice and I were AAU teammates at ETBA and later continued as teammates at Santa Fe College. Our bond grew from AAU in Toronto, to being broke college students trying to navigate a brand-new world together.

We laughed a lot. She had a boldness about her, the kind where I could stand behind her knowing she’d speak for both of us. She was bright, fearless, and carried an undeniable presence wherever she went.

When she passed during my senior year, it impacted me deeply. The loss was painful and life-changing in ways I’m still learning to understand. With time, reflection, and a return to the game, I’ve learned how to turn grief into purpose.

What began as a way to process loss grew into something much bigger to me and my other teammates created Camp 44, a movement rooted in legacy but impacting the next  generations of young women in sport.

After months of fundraising, planning, and outreach, we introduced The 44 Legacy — a scholarship awarded to a member of the women’s team who embodies the same qualities Shanice represented: leadership, selflessness, and being a true teammate.

This initiative will help support a student-athlete throughout the school year, in addition the official renaming of the Sunshine Award to the Shanice Clark Award in her honor to the athletic department. 

This moment felt full circle. 

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who supported, donated, showed up, and believed in my mission. Special thank you to Coach Chanda Stebbins for her relentless effort to help us see this through. Thank you to Sherry at Santa Fe, Christen McCarter for his continued support over the years, Coach D, and everyone working behind the scenes no effort went unnoticed.

The fund remains open as we continue to build in her name and impact future Santa Fe athletes.

And now, my mission continues — to make Camp 44 here in Toronto just as impactful. This summer will be special.

I end on the words of Eric Dane: “Love your friends with everything you have. Some of them will save you”.

💜🏀

#Camp44 #Legacy #WomenInSport #CommunityImpact #PurposeDriven #Gratitude

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