Rochester Institute of Technology Athletics

Kristine Pierce Brassie had a respectable hockey career where she scored 16 goals and added 20 assists for 36 points. But more important, her career was interrupted for nearly a year when she was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease the day before Thanksgiving in 1997. She underwent six months of treatment and beat the disease. She returned to the ice, and was a three-year team captain.   Pierce-Brassie graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Resort Management in 1999.  When Pierce returned to the game, it was with more appreciation and passion for life. She immersed herself in hockey, education, but more importantly, helping others in the community. During and after her illness, she volunteered for more than 23 different causes. And each year she set up community service projects for her teammates to participate in.  In 1999, she became the first woman and the first person in Division III to win the national Humanitarian Award, symbolic of intercollegiate hockey’s finest citizen.