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Earlier this summer, six members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's track and field team were part of a contingent visiting Greece and Italy from May 15-June 3 as part of the three-credit course titled "Recreation 491: Global Influence of Sport and Recreation".
During the three-week course, student-athletes from UW-Whitewater, UW-Madison and the State University of New York at Cortland attended classes and toured Greek cities Athens, Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi and Mykonos, and the Italian city of Rome. Dr. Kristina Navarro, UW-Whitewater's Assistant AD for Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships and Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Coaching, was a co-instructor for the course.
Rising junior Natalie Nadelhoffer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) shared her thoughts on the trip in a Q & A with UWWSPORTS.COM.
UWWSPORTS.COM: What initially drew you into taking advantage of this opportunity?
NADELHOFFER: I have always wanted to go do a travel study, so one day some teammates were talking about how they were thinking about doing the sports travel study. That night, I went back to my dorm room, searched all the information and called my parents to tell them I wanted to go study in another country.
UWWSPORTS.COM: What experience(s) from the trip stuck out in your mind?
NADELHOFFER: My favorite place that we got to experience was the 2004 Olympic site that was in Athens, Greece. It was such a nice arena. I think it was my favorite experience because there were so many great track athletes that competed there in 2004. Going on the trip with some of my teammates and experiencing an Olympic site was great.
UWWSPORTS.COM: Culturally, in what ways were Greece and Italy different from the United States? In what ways were they the same?
NADELHOFFER: I feel Greece's and Italy's main focus in sports was soccer, where I feel in the U.S., the main sport field is football and baseball. Also, I enjoyed when we had our meals together. It wasn't just a quick meal with your friends, it was hours spent just enjoying your meal and spending time with the people around you.
UWWSPORTS.COM: Part of UW-Whitewater's athletics mission is to give student-athletes opportunities to engage in a global setting. How were your interactions with people in another country?
NADELHOFFER: I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity because it was once in a lifetime. Interactions were great. I met so many amazing people and left Greece and Italy with friendships that will last a lifetime. If you get the chance to study in another country, do it. It will be worth it.
UWWSPORTS.COM: How do you feel this experience will benefit you both during your UW-Whitewater career and after graduation?
NADELHOFFER: I felt this experience taught me a lot and I will definitely benefit from things I learned there in the future. Looking at my academics after traveling through Greece and Italy, I would love to possibly do something with athletics in another country in my career field.
