Study abroad programs popular among field hockey athletes

Two field hockey athletes had already chosen a different path by playing the sport for Indiana, a state that doesn’t have high school field hockey.

In another unique twist, junior forward Lena Grote and senior back Lucy Ireland took their pursuit of academics into diverse cultures.  

Both traveled more than 4,000 miles to participate in overseas programs this past summer.

Lena Grote studies Arabic in Cairo

Grote has played in all 13 games so far but went to Cairo for classes at the American University for two months.

Grote’s area of study is International Studies, for which she is required to study abroad for a semester for credits or to get an internship.

She chose her major because she went to an all-girls school called Saint Ursula Academy in Cincinnati.

“I wanted to learn about other religions and different cultures that I wasn’t familiar with,” Grote said.

She had to choose a focal point of her major and language that she would learn throughout her classes that would relate to the region she would want to travel to.

“My focus is the Middle East, and I’m taking Arabic, so I went to a region that applied to my language,” Grote said.

She took a language class and a cultural class at the American University that would add credits to her transcript.

“On the weekends, I would travel to all parts of the country, which was kind of the touristy part of the trip,” Grote said.

Grote was grateful and appreciative for what she had in America compared to Egypt’s dire economic straits.

“It made me thankful for everything I had and there’s a lot of poverty that you saw,” Grote said.

IU field hockey coach Amy Robertson thought their trips opened their eyes to less fortunate things to make them grateful for what they have.

“They come back with a broader perspective on life,” Robertson said.

Before the season started, the field hockey team participated in a preseason ritual that Grote devoted to the happiness of the Egyptians.

“Especially being an athlete, we had a dedicational run, and the thing that motivated me was when Egypt’s national soccer team beat Italy,” Grote said. “It was the most exciting thing because everyone was in the streets celebrating.”

She also stayed in shape for field hockey season by running, which was a culture shock for both Grote and the Egyptians.

“It was difficult to do the running everyday, but it was more fun because a lot of the Egyptians would watch me work out,” Grote said. “They weren’t used to seeing a woman work out.”

Lucy Ireland enjoys internship, London experience

Ireland has made a major presence in the defensive side of the ball.

Ireland is majoring in journalism to pursue opportunities in the magazine marketing
field.

She went to London to do an eight-week internship abroad at Ink Publishing and took classes at City University.

“I did an internship for three days a week and took two different classes for credit,” Ireland said.

Ink Publishing advertises for in-flight magazines across Europe, the Middle East and with some American companies.

“I did this program so that I could get experience to write for a magazine,” Ireland said. “I learned a lot about style and Ink Publishing techniques.”

Writing for Ink taught her about magazine writing style.

“I wrote little stories for a few different in-flight magazines about travel and different places in Europe,” Ireland said.

Ireland said that the internship was one of the best she’s had in college because of its preparation for a future career in the magazine writing field.

“It pointed me in the direction for writing for magazines in the future,” she said.
Robertson believes college and its programs, like studying abroad and internships, create tremendous opportunities in the future.

“For their own growth and development as a person, I think it’s great,” Robertson said.