Building Relationships in Multiple Settings
10/9/2019 3:27:00 PM | Field Hockey, Student Athlete, Features, Intellectual Development
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
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Lehigh field hockey junior Stephanie Brabender is a people person. No matter the setting, people gravitate towards her.
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This past summer, Steph worked on relationship building in the country of Jordan (Middle Eastern country that borders Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia) – thanks to a trip through Lehigh University.
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"My group and I worked with vocational training company, Sela, that was working with the Department of Antiquities in Jordan to educate the locals on archaeology and help them find jobs in that field," said Brabender. "We did a lot of community engagement."
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Antiquities are objects from the ancient past, so what is the role of the Department of Antiquities?
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As explained on its website: "The objective of the establishment of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities in 1923 was to protect the antiquities of the country and to collect antiquities that were scattered all over the country and those in the hand of civilians."
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Antiquities have a special meaning for locals. Within antiquities is the history of one's land. The goal of Sela is to help community members become more empowered to make decisions about – and ultimately conserve – their cultural heritage.
Â
"We went around to houses talking to families," said Steph.
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From speaking with the residents, Brabender found they did want to be involved in archeology – something that is so important to the country's history.
Â
"They felt excluded, so Sela was trying to make them feel included," she said. "They were teaching locals skills so they could make this a long-term goal instead of just a short-term job."
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Brabender was in Jordan for the short term through Lehigh and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Allison Mickel. Mickel was on the trip, along with three students (Brabender and two others). They were in Jordan from June 16 to July 27.
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"It was definitely a different abroad experience," said Brabender. "It was such a small amount of us and we really got to know each other. It was nice to have Professor Mickel there too, who spoke Arabic."
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"Stephanie is one of the warmest and most charismatic people I have ever met," said Mickel. "She is confident, outgoing and is not easily thrown by unusual or challenging experiences – from tasting homemade fermented goat milk to finding a gym in a rural, conservative Jordanian town. She is resourceful, thoughtful, inquisitive and open-minded."
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Steph and the group stayed in multiple locations during their time in Jordan. Different tasks and end goals brought them to different places.
Â
They began in Madaba in the Northern part of the country.
Â
"The first house we were living in was from the Sela team," said Brabender. "It was pretty much an apartment. The second place was in somebody's house, and we lived in the apartment underneath."
Â
Each location was unique. An archaeological site was developing in Madaba, so as Brabender said, "Our training company wanted to move in there and get the locals to be really hands-on.
Â
"We later moved south to Petra, which was an already developed archaeological site."
Â
Steph's group was consistently on the go, out and about talking to people and developing relationships.
Â
Developing relationships is a strength of Steph's, but even she ran into some challenges.
Â
"It was weird to go into someone's house and see if we could ask a few questions," said Brabender. "You had to be outgoing.
Â
"Everyone was super nice though."
Â
Being put in foreign and uncomfortable situations forced Brabender to grow.
Â
"I learned a little bit of Arabic," she said. "Very little, but enough to communicate. I was able to talk to them a little bit.
Â
"I now definitely feel more culturally well-rounded," Steph continued. "It was a completely eye-opening experience. There were so many things different in Jordan than here in the U.S. I met a woman who literally lived in a cave."
Â
The summer experience got Brabender thinking. Despite the differences in language and lifestyle (among other things), something she already knew came to life.
Â
"We had so many differences, but we're all people and we all get along," she said. "The way they live is so different, but also so similar at the same time. It was really easy to get along with everyone there."
Â
Getting along with others doesn't always happen through shared language. There are other ways to communicate across cultures.
Â
"One weekend, we went to a homestay and were with a family who only spoke Arabic," said Steph. "We didn't really know how to get past that, but started playing UNO with them. That's a pretty common game where everyone knows how to play. In the end, they taught us the colors in Arabic and we taught them the colors in English."
Â
That's a more extreme example of Brabender bridging differences than what she does in her daily life at Lehigh. However, it's the same concept at work that makes Steph such a valuable part of her field hockey team.
Â
"Steph has always prioritized building relationships with those around her," said Lehigh head coach Dallmeyer. "She believes in the value of connecting with others and the power it can have in creating change within a team or, on a bigger scale, creating change within the world. As a program, we have been very relationship-driven as we continue to rebuild, knowing that relationships build chemistry both on and off the field."
Â
"Relationships are critical to the experience anyone has within any particular group of people, and Steph has consistently made her relationships within the team a priority which has positively enhanced everyone's LUFH experience."
Â
"It's really important to have a relationship with everyone you meet," said Steph. "Everyone is so different, yet so similar. You have to find connections with everyone, even if you don't feel like it's there. Just finding those ties really builds a team and makes relationships so much stronger."
Â
That's exactly what Brabender did this summer.
Â
"The members of Sela have already starting asking me to bring students next year, because they appreciated the work done by this year's team so much, and Stephanie played a big role in that," said Mickel. "I can say with certainty that the summer would not have been the same – not as fun, nor as successful – without her."
Â
Â
Lehigh field hockey junior Stephanie Brabender is a people person. No matter the setting, people gravitate towards her.
Â
This past summer, Steph worked on relationship building in the country of Jordan (Middle Eastern country that borders Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia) – thanks to a trip through Lehigh University.
Â
"My group and I worked with vocational training company, Sela, that was working with the Department of Antiquities in Jordan to educate the locals on archaeology and help them find jobs in that field," said Brabender. "We did a lot of community engagement."
Â
Antiquities are objects from the ancient past, so what is the role of the Department of Antiquities?
 As explained on its website: "The objective of the establishment of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities in 1923 was to protect the antiquities of the country and to collect antiquities that were scattered all over the country and those in the hand of civilians."
Â
Antiquities have a special meaning for locals. Within antiquities is the history of one's land. The goal of Sela is to help community members become more empowered to make decisions about – and ultimately conserve – their cultural heritage.
Â
"We went around to houses talking to families," said Steph.
Â
From speaking with the residents, Brabender found they did want to be involved in archeology – something that is so important to the country's history.
Â
"They felt excluded, so Sela was trying to make them feel included," she said. "They were teaching locals skills so they could make this a long-term goal instead of just a short-term job."
Â
Brabender was in Jordan for the short term through Lehigh and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Allison Mickel. Mickel was on the trip, along with three students (Brabender and two others). They were in Jordan from June 16 to July 27.
Â
"It was definitely a different abroad experience," said Brabender. "It was such a small amount of us and we really got to know each other. It was nice to have Professor Mickel there too, who spoke Arabic."
Â
"Stephanie is one of the warmest and most charismatic people I have ever met," said Mickel. "She is confident, outgoing and is not easily thrown by unusual or challenging experiences – from tasting homemade fermented goat milk to finding a gym in a rural, conservative Jordanian town. She is resourceful, thoughtful, inquisitive and open-minded."
Â
Steph and the group stayed in multiple locations during their time in Jordan. Different tasks and end goals brought them to different places.
Â
They began in Madaba in the Northern part of the country.
Â
"The first house we were living in was from the Sela team," said Brabender. "It was pretty much an apartment. The second place was in somebody's house, and we lived in the apartment underneath."
Â
Each location was unique. An archaeological site was developing in Madaba, so as Brabender said, "Our training company wanted to move in there and get the locals to be really hands-on.
Â
"We later moved south to Petra, which was an already developed archaeological site."
Â
Steph's group was consistently on the go, out and about talking to people and developing relationships.
Â
Developing relationships is a strength of Steph's, but even she ran into some challenges.
Â
"It was weird to go into someone's house and see if we could ask a few questions," said Brabender. "You had to be outgoing.
Â
"Everyone was super nice though."
 Being put in foreign and uncomfortable situations forced Brabender to grow.
Â
"I learned a little bit of Arabic," she said. "Very little, but enough to communicate. I was able to talk to them a little bit.
Â
"I now definitely feel more culturally well-rounded," Steph continued. "It was a completely eye-opening experience. There were so many things different in Jordan than here in the U.S. I met a woman who literally lived in a cave."
Â
The summer experience got Brabender thinking. Despite the differences in language and lifestyle (among other things), something she already knew came to life.
Â
"We had so many differences, but we're all people and we all get along," she said. "The way they live is so different, but also so similar at the same time. It was really easy to get along with everyone there."
Â
Getting along with others doesn't always happen through shared language. There are other ways to communicate across cultures.
Â
"One weekend, we went to a homestay and were with a family who only spoke Arabic," said Steph. "We didn't really know how to get past that, but started playing UNO with them. That's a pretty common game where everyone knows how to play. In the end, they taught us the colors in Arabic and we taught them the colors in English."
Â
That's a more extreme example of Brabender bridging differences than what she does in her daily life at Lehigh. However, it's the same concept at work that makes Steph such a valuable part of her field hockey team.
 "Steph has always prioritized building relationships with those around her," said Lehigh head coach Dallmeyer. "She believes in the value of connecting with others and the power it can have in creating change within a team or, on a bigger scale, creating change within the world. As a program, we have been very relationship-driven as we continue to rebuild, knowing that relationships build chemistry both on and off the field."
Â
"Relationships are critical to the experience anyone has within any particular group of people, and Steph has consistently made her relationships within the team a priority which has positively enhanced everyone's LUFH experience."
Â
"It's really important to have a relationship with everyone you meet," said Steph. "Everyone is so different, yet so similar. You have to find connections with everyone, even if you don't feel like it's there. Just finding those ties really builds a team and makes relationships so much stronger."
Â
That's exactly what Brabender did this summer.
Â
"The members of Sela have already starting asking me to bring students next year, because they appreciated the work done by this year's team so much, and Stephanie played a big role in that," said Mickel. "I can say with certainty that the summer would not have been the same – not as fun, nor as successful – without her."
Â
Players Mentioned
GK
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