I was studying abroad with the Kenya Semester Program this semester, and had even planned a trip backpacking around Europe after my semester was over. I never thought for any reason that I would be going home early.

I am grateful for the time that I spent in Kenya. I had two amazing months that I will never forget. I am, however, very sad that my semester abroad was cut short. I started looking forward to this experience before I even arrived at SLU. I had an internship set up in Nairobi at the International Commission of Jurists and am disappointed that I did not get to complete an amazing work experience. 

Despite losing out on some of my study abroad experience, I am lucky that I got to share my experiences in Kenya with two of my teammates on the field hockey team, Delaney Yates and Jackie Reiss. Our program was the last study abroad program to be sent home. We were in Amboseli National Park on March 19 when the Level 4 Travel Advisory was issued. Some of us were evacuated on flights home that night, and everyone else left the next day. Leaving Kenya, where there were less than 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and entering the U.S., where there were tens of thousands, was very stressful and nerve-wracking.

Transitioning to life and classes at home was a huge change in scenery and has been difficult. I have been home for a month now and am completing my classes online. It is hard completing my classes in the U.S. because I loved the experiential learning aspect of the Kenya Program. There is a huge difference between visiting and driving through the slums and just reading about it in articles. This experience has really taught me to be appreciative and make the most of every moment, because you never know when a worldwide crisis like this might happen. 

I cannot imagine being a senior, especially a spring season athlete. Our season is in the fall, however, my teammates were very disappointed not being able to have our short spring season. Having practices in the spring really helps us prepare for the fall because we are able to work on improving skills that we do not have time to focus on during season.

We are a very tightknit group and have been keeping in contact through weekly Zoom calls and group chats. In order to stay in shape, we have been sending each other skills that can be worked on at home and have been encouraging each other to stay active. We all have workouts that can be done at home on an app so we can continue to prepare for our season this fall. 

I am very proud of how my team has been handling the situation. We all wanted to help in any way that we could, especially the St. Lawrence students that were being affected. Our captains organized a virtual 5K that was held on Sunday, April 26, to raise money for the University's Emergency Student Assistance Fund. The amount of donations that came in and the number of people who helped out truly shows how special the St. Lawrence community is. 

We do not know what will happen in the fall and everything is up in the air, however, I have very high hopes for next season and do not think anything will distract our team from achieving our goals. 

Isabel Thompson '21 is a junior on the field hockey team. This piece is part of a series of stories by student-athletes about how St. Lawrence student-athletes saw their academic and athletic plans change rapidly as the spread of COVID-19 across the nation caused St. Lawrence to make the transition to remote learning instruction after spring break. If you are a St. Lawrence student-athlete interested in participating in this project, please contact Aaron Todd at atodd@stlawu.edu.