During my time at Belmont University, I was a part of the Belmont Division 1 Women’s Soccer team. I played all four years and met amazing people. I have played soccer for 16 years and to say it was a “hobby” is an understatement. The countless hours on the road, practicing and staying up late because I forgot to wash my practice clothes. I would not have traded it for the world. Soccer has taught me more about life than anything else I have done. Soccer has taught me how to work on a team, be a good leader, be a problem solver, and so much more. It has allowed me to travel all over the country and connect with strangers. Soccer is the best thing that has ever happened to me!

This trip started because of my love for soccer. I wanted to try and play overseas, but my love for soccer started to look different. In February of 2022, I decided my time as a player was over, but I wanted to give back to the sport because it gave me so much. My love for the game looks different now, but I want others to fall as deeply in love with the sport as I have. I am partnering with Volunteer Solutions to coach sports, specifically soccer, to kids aged 7-13 at a local school. I have the opportunity to combine my love for soccer and kids in a new and in a foreign country.

Not only is playing Division 1 soccer in college hard to manage but adding being a nursing student was a challenge I had never dreamed of facing. Juggling nursing school taught me lessons that soccer did not teach. I wanted to become a nurse because my grandmas were both nurses. The impact they had on my life was life-changing. They are two women I look up to, two women who put others first, and two women who embody the definition of a caretaker. The last piece of this trip I will be spending working in a local clinic where I will get to see what medical care looks like.