Life is extremely busy these days for fourth-year women's basketball guard Emily Mandamin.
 
In the classroom, the product of Iskatewizaagegan 39 Independent First Nation in Shoal Lake, Ontario is majoring in Indigenous governance with a minor in business. It's a perfect combination for Mandamin, a difference-maker and role model in her community and abroad.
 
A few summers ago, she worked with the Ontario Liquor and Gaming Commission to completely refurbish her home reserve's basketball court in Northwestern Ontario.
 
The court features a mural by local Indigenous artist Alicia Kejick, Mandamin's cousin who went to the same community school that she did. The mural is based on "Ziigwan" (zee-gwan) which represents the season of spring and is the beginning of a new year in Anishinaabe culture.
 
It's been full steam ahead ever since for Mandamin, who leads by example in everything she does.
 
"I'm currently coaching grade nine women's basketball at Dakota Collegiate which is really cool. It's my alma mater so I get to be at Dakota all the time. I'm also working on The Heart of the City capital campaign for the downtown YMCA to keep the downtown YMCA up and running for the downtown youth, and involving different programs promoting the YMCA/YWCA program within itself," she said.
 
"And then I'm doing some things online with speaking to different schools in Ontario about Indigenous representation within sport and the importance of it. I'm also coaching with the Winnipeg Sea Bears as part of the Winter Sea Bears Program. I have a lot of stuff on my plate this year, but it's nothing I wouldn't ask for."
 
Mandamin also spent her summer assisting with the Grind Now Shine Later Nunavik Basketball Program. The program was founded in the village of Aupaluk, by and for Inuit youth, in 2020.
 
"The program uses sport as a way to cope with the high suicide rates and high addictions population up north," she added.
 
"I get to work specifically with the young girls up north in Nunavik. I think having access to sport gives us equal opportunity to grow the game and a sense of belonging. I think that's what a lot of youth struggle with, is having somewhere they can call home or somewhere they feel wanted. The basketball court is what drew me to that early on. I built a community within sport."
 
As Mandamin noted, basketball has "saved her life" countless times. Amidst personal turmoil, the game was a constant, something that relieved her stress. Now, she has the pleasure of giving back, and no matter how busy she is, she makes the time because it matters to her.

"When I get to meet with these kids, we have this passion and love for the game, and it grows from there. It's really cool to be able to mentor kids younger than me, because I see myself in them. I remember being a kid that was so hungry to play basketball and meet somebody who understood what I was talking about. I think it's really cool that we have this connection with those youth," she noted.
 
"Helping people helps me in a sense. It gives me a sense of belonging and want, and accomplishment in this world. I'm trying to make the world a better place, and leave it better than I found it. If I can help wherever I can, then I think I'm doing my job."
 


'It keeps me rooted'
Despite a hectic schedule, Manitoba's sharp-shooting guard has continued step up on the court.
 
She's a vocal presence in practice, lifting her teammates up and creating a positive atmosphere. In-game, her playing style has evolved.
 
Mandamin's always been known for her perimeter shooting. She was third in Canada West last year during her debut season at UM, shooting 42.2 percent from distance. This year, she leads the Herd in triples once again, with 25, but has "broadened her horizons" further.
 
Mandamin's dished out 30 assists (third on the team), while the Bisons are fifth in the conference as group, with 15.2 assists per game. They enter this weekend's play against Winnipeg in the final post-season spot in Canada West's Prairie Division.
 
"I've gotten more opportunity to have the ball in my hands and facilitate and try to find others," she said.
 
"Once word got out in the conference that I'm a shooter, I think people want to get the ball out of my hands and I draw so many people that it's easy to find one more pass to a cutting Emerson [Martin] or Anna [Miko] on the three point line. It's been great trying to grow my game in that sense and it's helped me build confidence in not only myself but my teammates as well."
 
Stats aside, Mandamin's never been happier on the court. The culture within Manitoba's roster is genuine, a sharp shift from her early playing days at the US college level. She's thankful for the opportunity she has, much like she's thankful to be able to give back to her community.
 
"Basketball isn't as serious as one makes it out to be. In the states it was very business-like and very serious and it was either you're performing or you're not. Here it's a lot more about how you carry yourself as a person. That helped remind me that life isn't as serious as you make it out to be," she said.
 
"I think that's something that helped ground me through the hard moments when I felt like the world was ending. This is where the love began, when it was just you and a ball. That's where I come back to time and time again. It keeps me rooted in everything I am and who I came to be.