This year, Williston was given the privilege of welcoming junior Connor Canterbury onto the campus. Canterbury is from Eagle River, Alaska, and had only been to New England one time before coming to school here.

The previous time he came to this area was for a hockey tournament. Hockey is Canterbury’s main sport and he is very excited to get the season started here with his new team. “It is such a fun time of year. I know we are going to have a really good team here and hopefully that can generate a lot of college interest for us,” he said.

With this being his second time in New England ever, Canterbury was surprised because, “I thought it would be cold all the time. Living in Alaska that is kind of what we are used to, so I was expecting that here.”

Other than being a hockey player, Canterbury enjoys hiking and fishing during his free time. The Williston community has probably seen him out fishing by the pond using his self-made rod.

“The rod is just a stick, then I have rope tied around it and a little hook at the end. Once the fish come near it I just lift the line up as fast as possible and hook them on. It is actually really easy,” Canterbury said.

Canterbury and his family love to hunt while they are home. In fact, he uses one of the bear pelts that his grandfather owns as a blanket at night. “It is such a long process to explain. We hunt the bear, take it in to the shop and they clean it out for us, and then we use them as rugs or blankets,” he said.

This is not something Massachusetts natives are used to seeing. Tim Rego, a sophomore at Williston said, “The bear pelt scared me when I first saw it in the dorm. He wears it around all the time and tries to scare us.”