The students were first split up into individual groups featuring Gillies and Lena and worked on activities that addressed leadership qualities, perseverance in the face of adversity and how the Honor Code program has positively impacted their lives.
While Gillies and Lena pursued very different careers, sports teams and the military share an interesting overlap of qualities within the leadership aspects, teamwork and camaraderie. The stakes are obviously higher on the battlefield, but lessons of working together and relying on one another translate well to hockey. And whether it was joking around in the locker room or on a C-130 plane overseas, both Gillies and Lena shared stories of keeping the mood light-hearted as a balance to preserving the time and energy needed to perform their best on the ice and at serving the United States Navy.
Gillies recalled his path to reaching the NHL, sharing stories of how he put the necessary work in to make his passion a reality, and how he learned to embrace leadership roles. He captained the team from 1977-79 and even without a letter, was an emotional leader for the Islanders.
"I talked about when I was 16, 17 years old. I was playing hockey and having a lot of fun," Gillies said. "I didn't realize that I had potential to be a professional hockey player at that time. I was just enjoying what I was doing. I had a mentor come up and tell me that if I applied myself, I would have a great future. With me, it was in hockey. That same thing applies to these kids. If you can tell them that they do have a lot of potential and they work hard, that'll take you onto college, you get a real good education, good things will happen."
