Eden Laase interviews Dollar Bay boys basketball coach Jesse Kentala during the 2017-18 season. (Jason Juno/Daily Globe)

When I decided to take a job in Houghton, Michigan, people told me I was crazy. They said I didn’t know what I was getting into. The winters were brutal. The people in the U.P. were “different.”

And to be honest, the winter was awful. I’d wake up and wonder what I’d gotten into. And the people were “different,” but in the best way. I’ve never met a community that cares so much for one another. That’s why leaving this job will be so difficult. Though I was only in the Copper Country for a short while, I will never view my time here as a pit stop as I further my career. I will remember it fondly as the adventure of a lifetime, which is what I was hoping for when I decided to move to the frigid U.P. to cover hockey, a sport I had barely watched and never written about. 

Covering the Michigan Tech beat was a challenge for many reasons, but as the season progressed I began to feel at home in the ice rink, and I loved watching the community rally around the Huskies throughout the WCHA tournament. 

But the absolute highlight of my time in Houghton will always be covering prep sports. My first assignment was a game preview of the Calumet volleyball team, and as soon as I walked in the gym, I remembered why high school sports were so fun. The girls were happy to be interviewed, but more than anything they were happy to be playing sports together. High school sports bring a joy that no other level of athletics can, and I was able to see that in every sport and every game I attended. I got to watch as the Dollar Bay boys and Chassell  girls basketball teams blew through their competition, and was lucky enough to travel with Hancock as the Bulldogs traveled down state in hopes of taking home a state hockey title. 

Every step of the way I met parents, students and community members who brightened my days and reminded me, even in the most stressful of times, why I love my job. 

Thank you to Dan Rouleau, Corey Markham and Dan Giachino for teaching me about hockey and showing patience as I fumbled my way through the sport. Thank you to this beautiful community for accepting a Colorado transplant as one of your own. And thank you to the kids of the Copper Country, who made this job so rewarding. 

I will be forever grateful for my time here.

If you want to keep up with Eden (and she hopes you do), contact her on twitter: @eden_laase or send her an email: eden.laase@gmail.com