In Her Own Words: My Experience as an International Student Athlete

Hi, I’m Lucy, a sophomore journalism major and international student-athlete on the track and field and cross-country teams at the University of Maryland. 

I was born in Sunderland, a city in Northeast England. Before moving to College Park, I lived in the same house in a small village called South Hetton my whole life.  

As a little girl, I played constantly outside and have always been highly competitive. However, my love for running began the summer before I turned 8. My parents took me and my younger brother to London to watch the 2012 Olympic Games. After watching a night of track and field in awe of all the “really fast big girls” running around the track, I was hooked and begged to join my local athletics club. 

A week after my 8th birthday (the age you had to be to join the club), I was there every week for two nights. Nine months after that, I competed in my first track race. This kicked off the next 12 years of me competing and training all year round. 

When I was around 15, I saw many other British athletes decide to go to America to train and compete in track and cross country. I was immediately interested in this, as I had never seen myself attending a university near home or living in the same place in my adult life.

Months later, an agency specializing in helping international athletes commit to colleges in the United States contacted me, and I signed with them. I looked for a while, but ultimately, I went on an official visit to Maryland shortly after I turned 18. 

I loved the environment, the campus and how College Park felt. It was like it was its own little world. However, the facilities and the coaches were what made my decision. In the UK, accessing physiotherapists, high-tech recovery equipment and even a gym costs a lot of money. Here, I could have all of this and more through the help of my scholarship. 

Furthermore, Coach Danielle Siebert and Coach Andrew Valmon have always been welcoming and supportive. I have never had coaches who want the best for me while pushing me to become the best version of myself. They understand that achieving your goals is a long-term process and that progress is not linear.

Moving 4,000 miles away from a close-knit family background was the most challenging part of choosing America. Back at home, I am a five-minute drive from both my grandmas, who have always been my biggest support system after my parents. 

My anxieties about them getting older never seem to go away, but I have learned to deal with them, and now, College Park has become my home. Naturally, I had to face the reality that all college students have to: I’d never be permanently under the same roof as my parents, younger brother and dog Poppy again. 

Nonetheless, it stung a little more when I saw my friends from home, who had also moved out for university, being able to visit on the weekends — they had the best of both worlds. Despite the distance, nothing has changed with my core group of best friends and family. I especially think of my parents daily, as they sacrificed so much for me to have this opportunity.

Although my first semester adjusting to the U.S. schooling system was academically challenging, balancing athletics and academics is nothing new. The life-training-school balance is easier now than in the years before I came to Maryland. My training schedule is set at the beginning of the week so I can plan around class and my athletic commitments. 

I was extremely thankful for athletic department initiatives like the International Terps program. It allowed me to meet other international student-athletes as a freshman and attend meetings that explained how to navigate setting up bank accounts and filing taxes — things I would never have known how to do alone.

My favorite thing about being a student-athlete at Maryland is the life-long friends I’ve made and the amazing team around me. I now live with my two best friends on the tennis team. I met both at the beginning of my freshman year. 

As for my cross-country girls, there’s no other group of people I’d rather run next to five times a week. I couldn’t be more grateful for the upperclassmen on my team who helped me through every step of freshman year and continue to be great role models for me in my sophomore year.

Since moving to College Park, I have made a million happy memories, but this past cross-country season stands out as one of my favorites. From preseason to racing, traveling, and competing with the team was a great experience, and it displayed the friendship and team bond we all possess through good and bad races.

My experience as an international athlete has given me growth beyond what I could’ve imagined. I am a completely different person from the girl I was before, and only for the better. My new life here makes me happier than I’ve ever been, has given me so much confidence, and has blessed me with life experiences that would never have been possible if I had decided to accept a place at an English university.

If I had to give any advice to any other international students who are in the process of deciding whether to study abroad, I would tell them to go with their gut. Home will never disappear. Real friends will always keep in contact, and your family will be there when you return. Remember, it might be the best thing you ever do- or the chance you wish you’d taken years later.