Lane Prokopowich spent the past three summers at one of the most prestigious golf courses in the province.
The Dauphinite worked at the St. Charles Country Club. The same course that Michelle Wie won the LPGA's Canadian Women's Open in 2010 and Johnny Palmer won the PGA's Canadian Open in 1952.
Prokopowich spent two years working in the clubhouse and her final year in the pro shop. While at St. Charles, she provided lessons for junior golfers who were looking to improve their skills. Always with a smile on her face, Lane enjoyed every minute of her duties.
"It was great to go every day and share my love of the game with younger golfers," said Prokopowich. "To show them the ropes and get them started was a great experience."
Lane would also come back to Dauphin as often as possible during the summer to play at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club with her family and her game improved immensely from the time she began at St. Charles to the present day.
She was about a 20 handicap and today, Lane is thrilled to say she plays to an eight. Prokopowich was able to shave off 12 strokes off her game while working full-time and staying busy with everything else life threw her way.
"I find when I start something, I want to become the best I can," said Prokopowich. "I started to realize that you can do anything you put your mind to when you put time and effort into it. I have a passion for golf so I enjoyed trying to improve my game and it feels good to know that I did."
While working at the course and on her game, Lane was studying at the University of Manitoba. After five years of working around the clock, Lane achieved a major milestone when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in English.
With her family and friends right by her side, Prokopowich celebrated graduating in late October.
"It feels surreal, as much as it went by slow, it went by quickly," commented Prokopowich. "One day I was starting and the next I was on the stage getting my degree. It feels great to have that under my belt, no more studying."
Prokopowich has since begun her new career as a Human Resources Generalist with CHB Company in Winnipeg.
"It feels great, all of these big life chapters opening," continued Prokopowich. "Walking into adulthood has been a change but a great change."
While Lane's schedule will be very busy with her day-to-day duties in her new career, she will always find time for one of her major passions: spending time on the pebbled ice. While she is living in Winnipeg full-time, Lane's journey in curling dates back nearly two decades. She started in the Kids Curling Program in Dauphin and quickly moved up to the high-performance program and years later, Lane is heading back to the provincial championships.
Lane is back skipping her team this year. Her foursome includes Mikaylah Lyburn, Caitlin Kostna, and Stephanie Feeleus. Playing in just their fourth event of the season over the weekend, the foursome caught fire. They scored 39 points in five games on route to winning all five matches at a qualifier in Carman. Their 7-5 victory over Team Calvert in the final earned the foursome a berth in the Rocky Mountain Equipment Women of the Rings provincial championships from January 21-26 at the Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex.
An event that features the best teams in the province, Prokopowich is thrilled at the opportunity.
"Being able to go undefeated was huge for our team, we knew that if we earned that berth we wouldn't have to play in regionals," offered Prokopowich. "I am so proud of our team. Being able to secure our spot early is a bit of a relief."
Next year's event will be Lane's fourth time playing in the women's provincial championship.
"It never gets old and I don't think it ever will. To play at that level against all of these top teams and to be on arena ice," ended Prokopowich. "It's where any female curler in our province wants to be, playing in a provincial championship. It's an incredible experience and I can't wait for the event to begin."