NBA star Pascal Siakam visits N.B. students, gets honourary doctorate

The University of New Brunswick is giving NBA player Pascal Siakam an honourary doctorate.

NBA all-star Pascal Siakam visited Gagetown, N.B., students and received an honourary doctorate on Wednesday.

The 2019 NBA Champion with the Toronto Raptors was in town for a celebration of Data Dunkers, which is described as an innovative basketball and data science learning experience for students in Grades 5-to-12.

The program focuses on activities which are designed to help students learn how to find the meaning in data, particularly by using data that is openly available from the NBA and WNBA.

Siakam is a partner for the program through his foundation PS43. The foundation aims to make a difference in the lives of children through education.

“Technology is the future,” Siakam told reporters Wednesday. “We just want to continue to empower kids through technology and through education. For us this was the perfect way to do it, basketball and data together, that’s a perfect marriage.”

Not only did students in Grades 6-to-8 present some findings to the Indiana Pacers forward, but they also got the chance to ask Siakam some questions like his greatest basketball memory. The Gagetown students were joined by students virtually from Sunny Brae Middle School in Moncton.

Gagetown School principal Kathrine Colpitts says students will likely be wearing their signed Siakam hats and T-shirts for weeks. She also expects an increased level of focus and motivation from the students after meeting one of their idols.

“We are making core memories here and inspiring the students in the context of data science and basketball,” Colpitts says. “I don’t think it gets any better than that, perfect way to start the year.”

Students at Gagetown weren’t aware ahead of time that Siakam would be visiting them.

“I went insane,” says Acacia Mallery when she saw the NBA star walk into the gym. “I was sweating so much I could not handle it.”

“I was just extremely surprised and didn’t know what to say,” says a starstruck Gage Sutherland.

The students say Data Dunkers is about connecting students with coding through basketball and encouraging them to chase their dreams.

“I remember for me as a young kid and going to Basketball Without Borders in South Africa, seeing NBA players, it changed my whole mindset about wanting to be in the NBA,” says Siakam, who didn’t pick up the game until he was a teenager.

“It just gave me a different perspective that I think helped me shape the person I am today so that’s what I am hoping to do also.”

In the evening Siakam was awarded an honorary degree from the University of New Brunswick (UNB).

Through the PS43 foundation, UNB offers the Pascal Siakam Scholarship, which is awarded to a student from his home country of Cameroon who is enrolled in a computer science program.

UNB president and vice-chancellor Dr. Paul Mazerolle says the scholarship has made a big impact since its creation in 2023.

“They’re so appreciative and they say this means I don’t have to work 20, 30, 40 hours a week to provide for themselves,” Mazerolle says. “It really allows them more time to study, invest in their future and so for them, it’s a game changer. We want to just enable make sure that [award recipients] have a great experience and a strong future.”

The evening also featured Siakam in a fireside chat with former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna where the two talked about the basketball star’s leadership, resilience and impact both on and off the court.

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