Since arriving on campus at Ball State University, hockey athlete, Anya Eicher has been adjusting to the student/athlete lifestyle in the U.S. NSR sat down with Anya to discuss the progress of her first year.
Experience:
Arriving on campus
Arriving on campus was a breeze. After the 24 hours of traveling and messed up sleep cycle due to the crazy time difference, I arrived a week before pre-season started to get everything sorted for the start of school. I met with my academic advisor to pick my classes, got my I.D card, finalized a few bits of paperwork for school and hockey and got a comprehensive tour of campus and the hockey facilities.
Dorm life
I’m living on campus in the international dorm. It isn’t exclusively for international students as my roommate is a Tennis player from Florida, but the perks are that they keep it open over the breaks so that you’re not left without anywhere to go! Living on campus is super fun, the food is amazing and the people are so friendly.
International students at Ball State University
We have quite a few international students, especially athletes. The school has so many great support services for us though and the entire athletics department, my coaches and my teammates are super understanding and accommodating of international students.
Highlight of the semester
There were so many fnny moments with my teammates. We had many karaoke sessions, either on the bus to games or just when we’re hanging out, movie nights and student organized events on campus. There are so many of them that you’re bound to find one that interests you.
Sport:
Sporting Facilities at Ball State
The facilities are amazing. We have a water-based turf field that is only three years old. At the field we have a shed for all of our gear and a team room fit with chairs, a whiteboard, a TV to watch game footage and a fridge. In addition, we have a locker room that is connected to the football stadium that we can get ready in before matches.
Pres-season Training
As the hockey season starts as soon as school starts, we have a 12-day preseason before classes start. We all stayed in the dorms together for the first 6 days until all the freshman were allowed to move into their permanent dorms. A typical day includes 2 practice sessions, each about 3 hours long. We usually have about 1 ½ hours for lunch in between sessions. 3 days a week we would lift after practice. We would all then take a quick ice-bath before going out to dinner as a team, then get to bed pretty early to start everything all over again the next day!
First college field hockey game
My first game in the U.S. was a dream. I was fortunate enough to start that game. The level of play was a lot higher than I was used to, but after seeing the talent among my teammates I had a hunch I knew what I was getting myself into.
Education-
Class size
My lecture sizes varied from class to class. The biggest lecture I had was roughly 150 in an intro history class and the smallest I had was about 20 in an English class.
Balancing sport and academics
The athletics department is very big on us being students before athletes and gives us so much support. The freshman all have mandatory study tables to go to for the first semester so that we can get used to the amount of studying/homework we have and not get behind.
Scholarship:
Opportunities to obtain scholarship whilst at Ball State
There are so many opportunities to obtain more scholarship once you start school. Each department offers scholarships as well as some general ones as well.