By: Theresa Messenger ’18, Staff writer
Study abroad programs at Lebanon Valley College are highly encouraged and this past fall, eight student athletes spent their time abroad.
Among those student-athletes were Colin Albright, a junior accounting and economics double major, Cooper Gerus, a senior political science major and Bri Wynn, a junior physical therapy major. Each participates in a spring sport; therefore, they were able to go abroad without sacrificing the competition season.
Albright who plays baseball, Gerus who plays lacrosse and Wynn who runs track and field traveled to separate continents where they experienced different cultures and every day life. Perugia, Italy was Albright’s chosen destination, while Gerus spent the semester in Shanghai, China and Wynn traveled to Hamilton, New Zealand for four months. Unfortunately, these countries did not have the same resources to continue regular practice for each individuals’ sport.
“I played a lot of soccer while in China,” Gerus said. “The international students from the Middle East and Europe would play every day, and there was a group of lacrosse players I met there, so they had the resources to play. Definitely a great athletic community.”
Albright also described his experience with athletics and training abroad.
“Since baseball is an American sport and not widely recognized in other countries, I could not find any baseball facilities while in Perugia,” Albright said. “There was, however, a track about 10 minutes from my apartment, so it was easy to continue running to stay in shape. I also gained quite a bit of leg muscle since Perugia is on top of a mountain; I was walking up and down steep hills all day long.”
The decision making process to study abroad was not considered lightly in all cases. Each student considered the possibility of missing his or her season along with his or her academic course requirements.
“As a physical therapy major, I only had two possible semesters I could go,” Wynn said. “One being sophomore year spring semester and the other being junior year fall semester. Track did not play a role since I am a physical therapy major. I can red shirt a season and run track my fifth year.”
Albright also explained how he shaped his study abroad experience while considering athletics and academic fulfillments.
“My sport impacted my decision making process because I knew I had to travel abroad in the fall in order to not miss baseball season in the spring,” Albright said. “I was also able to fulfill some major and general education requirements while in Italy.”
Albright, Gerus and Wynn also gained a great deal during their time abroad. Gerus found the people he met to be the most memorable.
“The friends I made from different parts of the world has been the most rewarding part out of the entire study abroad experience,” Gerus said.
Wynn agreed meeting a variety of individuals was very impactful.
“The opportunity to be immersed and learn about a different culture and to travel and meet new people from around the world is something I will always cherish,” Wynn said.
Each student-athlete has found the adjustment back to the College and their respective sports to be generally easy.
“Since Italy did not have any baseball facilities, I started working out the day after I returned to the states,” Albright said. “The adjustment back to life at the Valley has been pretty easy for me. I made sure not to get too lazy while abroad as far as school work goes, so it has been easy for me to get back in the swing of things at LVC.”
While they are all taking advantage of new experiences back in the states and adapting to the American cultures, Albright, Gerus and Wynn speak highly of their experiences. They are all pleased to have had the opportunity to study abroad.
“I would urge everyone to consider studying abroad,” Wynn said. “It is such an amazing opportunity, and these types of opportunities are once in a life time.”
tm007@lvc.edu