“We believe in the power of global education. We are 100% study abroad.” Those are the first words on the study abroad page on Goucher College’s website. Studying abroad is one of the major Goucher Common Requirements students are required to complete.
Hyemee Kim, Assistant Director of Global Education for Advising, stated that quite a few student-athletes are “leaning towards ICAs.” Kim said Dr. Matthew Van Hoose, Associate Vice President for Global, Career, and Community-Based Learning, had a meeting with the athletic coaches to state that study abroad is a requirement, and it does include student-athletes.
“We understand that over 30% of the Goucher population are student-athletes at Goucher,” Kim said. “We understand the pressure through the semester, but there are no exceptions for them. Some coaches emphasized that ICAs will be a great option for them because they won’t miss their season.”
At Goucher College, the three types of study-abroad programs offered are Intensive Courses Abroad (ICA), non-Goucher study-abroad programs, and semester abroad programs. Studying abroad is a chance for students to make valuable connections within the classroom, along with exploring other cultures, values, and different ways of communication and learning.
Eliza Abady’ 25, and Sarai Oquendo-Silveira’ 25, two athletes from Goucher Women’s tennis, were among the few athletes who decided on a semester abroad program. Both seniors said that some athletes lean more towards ICAs due to the fear of missing out on their sport. Fahim Faizy, ‘25, said that some also may fear that they won’t have much opportunity to practice their sport as much abroad.
“We are students before athletes,” Silvera said.
“College is four years; you can play a sport for over those four years, but the chance to study abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Abady studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain to focus mainly on her Spanish major. Silveira studied in Turin, Italy, where she learned the Italian language and got to be immersed in the culture. Faizy also was in Europe, studying in Linz, Austria at Johannes Kepler University.
“I think if you are studying abroad, you might as well take the opportunity to take classes and explore,” Abady said.
While taking classes abroad, Abady, Silveira, and Faizy took the chance to travel and explore other parts of Europe. Silveira and Abady had the opportunity to travel together to countries including Germany and Portugal.
Eliza Abady and Sarai Oquendo-Silveira on an afternoon trip to Lisbon, Portugal. Photo Credits: Eliza Abady.
“One thing I really liked about my program was that I liked being close to other European countries,” Oquendo-Silveira said.
“Two of my teammates decided to do a semester abroad as well,” Fahim said. “So why not go with them? We got to meet in Prague and two of my teammates were studying in Spain and Hungary.”
They not only chose a semester to be immersed in the culture and enhance the languages of the countries they lived in but also said they wanted to push themselves to take a risk, to “take advantage of what Goucher offers.”
“The study-abroad program is what attracted me to Goucher, so why not take the risk and advantage given,” Abady said.
“A big identity factor for student-athletes is they only do ICAs due to not wanting to miss their season, but I wanted to make my own identity aside from others’ assumptions.”
Despite the roaring assumptions of student-athletes only doing ICAs, some student-athletes who have done ICAs had impactful yet uplifting experiences. Ella Robinson ‘25, a member of the Goucher Women’s Swim team, did an ISEP (International Student Exchange Program) program in Ghana for about a month.
“I think athletes choosing which program is 50/50,” Robinson said.
“I know many who have chosen to do a semester and many who have done an ICA.”
I feel that doing an ICA impacted me to be better at getting out of my comfort zone,” Robinson said.
Robinson said that she chose the ICA because she did not want to miss “any portion of time at Goucher or on the swimming team.” The benefits surrounding the ICA are that they are a cheaper option, and if some do not like to travel for too long, the programs are a shorter amount of time abroad than a semester.
Ella Robinson in Ghana, petting an alligator. Photo Credits: Ella Robinson
Another athlete from the Women’s Swim team was Emma Kistner’ 25, who is also a track & field athlete. She did the French Theatre ICA, which was led by Mark Ingram and Becky Free. She said that doing an ICA allowed her to still be committed to other things at Goucher, including being part of the Student Government Association (SGA) and athletics.
“I’m grateful that Goucher had the ICA programs because they were accommodating to my schedule as well as my comfortability level while being abroad,” Kistner said.
“I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and I have taken French courses since my freshman year of high school, so it was a no-brainer when I found out I could travel to France and still compete in athletics.”
Kistner said that more athletes tend to choose ICA programs because most athletes tend to be training all year and keep up with their dedication to their sport. She also stated that some athletes who play in the fall or spring season sometimes go abroad when they are not in season, but winter season sports don’t always have that opportunity to be able to go abroad.
“For winter athletes or dual or triple-athletes, we don’t always get that opportunity, which is once again why the ICA’s are a great opportunity,” Kistner said.
Kistner concluded that even though her ICA in France pushed her out of her comfort zone, allowing her to discover new things about herself and find her enjoyment in traveling, she was still left with the feeling of wanting to go back and continue to explore.
“The three-week length felt like the perfect amount of time to get acquitted with the country, but still leaving me wanting to go back and continue to explore,” Kistner concluded.
Emma Kistner, standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Photo Credits: Emma Kistner
Regardless of whether they do an ICA or a semester, student-athletes are still required to a study-abroad program. To help better prepare athletes for choosing their type of program, some athletes, including Hyemee Kim, have provided some much-needed tips on how to go into the decision-making process.
Kim suggested that if student-athletes worry they won’t have any opportunity to play their sport abroad, have them check out if there are any sports programs or clubs near the universities to keep up with their training. Faizy and some of his teammates, during his program abroad, found a running route behind his dorm in Linz. He was also able to play pick-up soccer with other international students within the university.
“My teammates found this running route behind my dorm in this Austrian neighborhood, and we would just run there, which was two miles,” Faizy said. “It made me fitter.”
Abady also got to join a tennis club within her program in Spain.
Fahim, Abady, Kistner, and Silveira’s major tip to athletes choosing a study abroad program is to go when they have an off-season. Silvera and Abady decided to study abroad in their fall semester due to not having a huge fall season.
“If you do not want to miss your season, go during a time when you are not in season,” Abady said.
The last recommendation from the athletes who did an ICA and semester is to consider how long you would want to be abroad. Robinson said that if athletes want more time in Goucher for their sport and do not want to miss a lot of time, then an ICA would be better. She also said that “depending also on your field of study, a semester may be required.”
“Choose what works best for your schedule and take pride in taking care of yourself as an athlete,” Kistner concluded.
Despite the amount of time a program has, or the program resides, more athletes have walked out of their program feeling much more confident in their ability to travel, learn new skills in classes, and even learn new things about themselves.
“Remember, you will be rewarded for going abroad,” Silvera concluded.
By Shelby Meek, ’25
