Summer Abroad

By: Meagan Eripret '19

Four members of the Lehigh women's basketball team spent the first five weeks of their summer studying and working abroad.

Rising juniors Cameryn Benz, Camryn Buhr, Paige Galiani and Gena Grundhoffer were all a part of the Lehigh in Prague program.

The six-credit program featured a weekly class and an internship in a "real-world" setting. A total of 68 Lehigh students were accepted to the program. They were given a choice between four or five classes and around 15 internships.

Benz worked for Grafton Recruitment helping employers find new candidates, Grundhoffer analyzed international data for MasterCard, and Buhr and Galiani did marketing work for AAA Auto. They worked their nine-to-five jobs from Monday through Thursday.

"I liked the experience of being able to see what work culture is like and even having a job because I haven't done that before," Benz said. "It also showed me what I do and don't want to do post-graduation."

The work experience provided them a place to learn about effective management styles. Buhr and Galiani's supervisors were focused on their improvement as individuals. They did their work without direct guidance. Instead, their bosses would meet with them afterwards to give feedback and go over what was good and what needed improvement.

"Their main objective was for us to learn versus just getting stuff done for them," Galiani said. "They made sure they asked what we wanted to do and if we wanted to work more in groups or individually. It was more focused on us than on them."

Galiani believes that style of leadership allowed her to adapt and learn more quickly, and she credits her development to the straightforwardness of her supervisors.

Along with their internships, they also attended class on Tuesday nights. There, they created relationships with their professors that would prove invaluable to the overall experience.

The experience abroad wasn't limited to the Czech Republic. Since the internships were only four days a week, they were able to travel on the weekends. They also visited Dubrovnik, Croatia, Budapest, Hungary and Berlin, Germany.

Each of those cities offered the student-athletes something different. Dubrovnik is a coastal city, so they were able to go on a boat trip. It's also where scenes from the popular HBO show "Game of Thrones" is filmed, so being fans of the show, they made it a point to visit those iconic locations. In Budapest, their Airbnb was in a central location, so they got a taste of the culture by walking right outside the apartment and experiencing a classic European market. Finally, in Berlin, they visited the Berlin Wall and visited museums, so they could learn more about the historic city.

"Seeing the Berlin Wall was something on my bucket list," Grundhoffer said, "…so I can finally cross that off."

The cultural differences they discovered had an impact on the experience. They were surprised to learn that water was less accessible than in the United States.

"We can see now that we're super grateful for what we have in America versus what Europe has," Benz said. "A huge part is water; we had to pay for water everywhere, and it's not even the cheapest option."

"I've never been more grateful for water in my life," Galiani chimed in, jokingly.

The four juniors know they are luckier than most for being able to take advantage of this opportunity.

They had several different reasons for wanting to study abroad.

For Grundhoffer, she'd never been to Europe, so she wanted to experience a new part of the world. Galiani's older brother studied abroad, and, after hearing about his travels, she knew it was something she wanted to do.

Buhr knew early in her recruiting process that she wanted to spend time abroad while in college. Her older sister also played Division I basketball, but wasn't fortunate enough to travel until after she graduated.

"I made sure to talk to Coach Troyan about something like this," she said. "When I was getting recruited, I asked if I'd be able to do something like this. So I knew coming in I wanted to study abroad and that was one of the reasons why I chose Lehigh because I knew I'd have the opportunity to do this."

Head Coach Sue Troyan played an important role in making the trip possible for the student-athletes.

"When I first brought it up to her, she was so supportive," Buhr said. "She didn't question anything about it. She wanted us to do it and even encouraged us."

Troyan encouraged them to go because she believes experiences outside of sport help develop student-athletes to reach their fullest potential.

"I think an important aspect to their development is providing an opportunity where they can learn and be exposed to different cultures in our world, challenging them to be stretched to think differently as they experience different parts of our world," Troyan said. "Lehigh's summer abroad opportunities provide a greater understanding for the cultural values of other parts of the world; this will be important in an ever-evolving world in which we want them to lead once they graduate."

The problem with being a Division I athlete who studies abroad is that the time away can take a toll on athletic performance when access to gyms and facilities are limited. The stress can weigh on student-athletes, taking away from the new cultures and experiences, but Lehigh's coaching staff was understanding, seeing value in the cultural experience.

"It was awesome that we were able to do this in the summer and that our coaches allowed us to go and enjoy ourselves and didn't put extreme pressure on us," Galiani said.

"It really eased what stress I had about going and not being able to touch a basketball as often as I do here," Galiani continued. "It made it that much better that our coaches were that supportive and it made me extremely grateful to have such an amazing coaching staff."

The trip also demonstrates the mutual trust and respect between the athletes and their coaches. Benz said the coaching staff checked in with them periodically to see how they were enjoying the trip.

"Coach Troyan was open with us about how excited she was for it and it showed me that she trusted us to take the time off because it's worth it," Benz said. "She knew that we'd experience a lot and when we got back, it would be time to get to work again. It just shows the relationship that we have with Coach Troyan and the other coaches as well. Every single coach was excited for us and they couldn't wait to hear about the trip."

The athletes were worried that when they got back, they'd have to play catch up on their conditioning. They thought it would affect whether or not Coach Troyan would let them go, but instead, she understood they'd be a little slower upon return and trusted they'd be able to get back to where they needed to be when the team got together in July.

Troyan even said a break can benefit a Division I basketball player. The season spans six months and most of the school year.

"I think built-in breaks are super important to our athletes; it regenerates them, gets them away from the daily grind and also gives them an appreciation for what they have here at Lehigh," Troyan said.

Since the group has returned and reunited with the rest of their team, they've taken some time to reflect on the lessons they learned while they were abroad.

The trip allowed them to branch out in more ways than one. Grundhoffer loved they were able to meet people, not just from the Czech Republic, but from all over the world. She appreciated all of the cultures they were exposed to.

Buhr and Benz also noted, since it was a Lehigh-run program, they interacted with other Lehigh students, many of whom weren't athletes. It allowed them to develop and strengthen relationships outside of Lehigh Athletics, and they wouldn't have had the opportunity to do that without the Lehigh in Prague program. All four said they'll never forget the friends they made while abroad.

"My biggest takeaway is that If you're in a situation like ours and you have this opportunity, take it," Benz said. "You make friends and gain experiences and in the end, you realize that there won't be another chance like this. You really should be grateful for it. It's an experience you can't find anywhere else. Even if you just go to a different state, it's not the same as a different country."

Troyan would advise student-athletes to seize the opportunity as well.

"This is a time period in your life when you have the opportunities to travel, learn and grow from your experiences, and they are experiences that will forever impact your life," she said. "For coaches, I've found it's been super helpful in giving our student-athletes an appreciation for what they have at Lehigh, and an appreciation for the opportunity to do such an experience."

Benz and her classmates know not to take this experience for granted.

"I'll always remember that I was able to do this while playing basketball," she said. "The fact that I had this opportunity as a Division I basketball player is something that I'll appreciate forever."

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