Drawing courtesy of James Lafortezza.
Having the opportunity to study abroad during college is one of the main attractions for students who attend Connecticut College. Studying abroad is known to be one of the most amazing times of a student’s college experience. Over 50% of students at Conn take advantage of this opportunity either through programs offered by Conn or through programs offered by other schools.
Traditionally, students choose the fall or spring semester to spend four months learning, traveling and developing as a student in a different country. At Conn, student athletes who play a fall sport are able to study abroad during the spring semester while student athletes who play a spring sport are able to study abroad during the fall semester. Except this academic split between the fall and the spring leaves the student athletes who play winter sports with a challenging decision as the winter sport season is spread over both semesters. Winter sports usually begin Nov 1 and go through the winter break and often through February. No matter which semester winter athletes study abroad, they will be missing a part of their sports season.
The question is: when an athlete commits to play on a winter sports team does it mean s/he automatically sacrificed his/her opportunity to study abroad? Playing a sport at the collegiate level is a huge commitment. Athletes agree to dedicate a large chunk of their time to practices, games and traveling which can jeopardize their schoolwork and social lives. Many people do not realize is that athletes who play winter sports may be jeopardizing some of their educational opportunities. During a sports season, student athletes make the decision to put their commitment to their team before almost everything else. Coaches get angry when their athletes miss practices because an absent teammate can change team dynamics and missing an entire half of a season can put an athlete and their team, at a disadvantage.
In contrast to these expectations, many athletes at Conn have risked this all in order to travel abroad. Many athletes have found that they are able to study abroad while also playing for their teams and maintaining their commitment.
Leah Puklin ‘15, a top athlete and tri-captain on the Women’s Varsity Squash team traveled abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark the fall of her junior year. Puklin said traveling abroad had always been a dream of hers so not getting the chance to go was not an option. Considering the squash season overlaps both semesters, Puklin chose to travel abroad during the fall semester because the most crucial part of the squash season takes place in the second half of the season. Despite this conscious effort to be available for as much as the season as possible, Puklin admits it was challenging to miss parts of her training. As both a huge contributor and as a player with a leadership position, Puklin knew it was her duty to keep in touch with her team as much as possible.
While abroad, she attempted to send the team good luck messages before every match and keep up to date on the season’s results. Puklin said despite her best efforts, “it was hard to come back and lead as a captain when I didn’t know any of the first years. My main goal coming back to the team was to earn the respect of my teammates and coach by leading through example.”
Looking at Puklin’s situation and from hearing other stories from winter athletes, it is definitely possible to study abroad while on a winter sports team. It isn’t easy, but if an athlete works hard before and after s/he returns, with the help of his/her team s/he can readjust. There is no reason a winter athlete shouldn’t get the chance to represent his/her team and study around the world. •
