Advice from Student-Athletes

"Work hard on and off the court. Always stay on top of your school assignments. Your ability to practice and play matches depends on your grades."

Adrianna and Julia are powerhouse sisters and international students from Poland chasing their dreams in the USA playing Division ll tennis.

Tell me about yourself.

Jennifer: I'm an international student-athlete from Poland. I'm a part of the women's tennis team at Division II West Virginia State University. I’m majoring in Business Administration and Marketing.

Ariana: I graduated in 2014, majoring in Communication Management with a Multimedia Minor. I also did my MBA a year after that. During my undergrad, I played tennis.

What does a typical day look like?

Julia: I start each day with breakfast in the school cafeteria and then go to classes. After finishing classes around noon, I meet my teammate for lunch. Then I go back to the dorms for a short break and prepare for the rest of the day. At 2 pm I usually go to the next class. Around 3 pm, I go back to my room, change for training and go to the courts. After two hours of practice, 3:30-5:30, my teammates and I go to the cafeteria for dinner. At the end of the day, I usually watch Netflix with my roommates or do my homework. During the season, we have a lot of matches during the week and on weekends. Tournaments are either local, or we travel to other states.

During the fall semester (off-season), we have two days off from tennis, in which we usually have cardio or weightlifting training. During the weekends, there is a morning practice. After practice, my team and I go to cheer on other teams from our school which are in season. Sometimes we go out to dinner or movies outside of campus, where we meet with other friends.

Adrianna: Every weekday was similar, as a team, we started with morning weights or running, followed by breakfast, classes, lunch, afternoon tennis practice, dinner, and homework time. In season we also often had travels and tournaments during the week apart from weekend games. The schedule was always packed.

When did you start applying/ How did you get recognized or recruited?

Julia: I started applying to schools in September 2020, exactly a year before my college freshman year.

Adrianna: I started applying a year and a half before my first day at US college. The process has not been easy since I was the first in my family to go to school abroad. My parents do not speak English, and none of us knew how the US college system works.

Some of my older friends from home have been studying in the US, so I visited one of them, which has helped me to learn how the process works. After I completed my NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) profile, I started getting recognized by different US College Tennis Teams coaches, and I was also applying and sending emails to various schools myself.

How did you weigh your options? Did you have a single deciding factor that made your decision easier?

Julia: I went to the US mainly to get a diploma from an American university and experience an amazing adventure. I've always known that tennis would help me achieve my dreams. I worked hard for it and discovered that my academic and tennis achievements resulted in receiving a full scholarship, which ultimately encouraged me to go.

Adrianna: Coming from Poland, when it is very cold, I always dreamed of going to college in a warm place. However, the deciding factor was the scholarship amount I had been offered. In Europe, most colleges do not have tuition unless you choose to go to a private school, which is very often not as good as private, opposite to the US system. Additionally, the Polish currency is five times lower than the US. It used to be three times lower when I went to school. Therefore it would be very hard for my parents to cover any bigger cost of American education, which made me choose the school that gave me the highest scholarship. Fortunately, that school happened to be in Florida, which simultaneously made my dream come true. How do you represent sports on your resume?

Julia: To apply for an athletic and academic scholarship in the US, I had to present both profiles, my academic results (grades and test results) as well as my tennis resume, which included tennis achievements from the past couple of years (rankings, types of tournaments I won, UTR- universal tennis rating, and a tennis video showing my game). Tennis has a big component of my application and the main reason I got the scholarship. I plan to use some of the elements of my athlete profile on my professional resume in the future as well.

Adrianna: At the beginning of my professional career, tennis was the center of attention on my resume. I have listed my position as a tennis team captain, described my duties, and written down my biggest accomplishments. Even though it has been eight years, I still have an “Academic & Athletic (Tennis) Full-ride NCAA Scholarship Holder” note on my resume.

Surprisingly I get asked about that more often than about my actual degree. Nowadays, when I am the one who recruits and interviews new employees, I tend to look for those athletes. I have been told multiple times and strongly believe that athletes are great employees. They are hard-working and well-organized since they have always had to juggle many tasks and deadlines.

How do you feel being an international student affected you?

Julia: American colleges are full of international students, especially athletes. All the professors and staff are very supportive. Everyone wants to get to know you, and people are interested in your background and opinions, so creating new friendships is easy. Being a student-athlete in the US has broadened my horizons and expanded my knowledge about other countries and cultures, which I will be forever grateful for. It has been an amazing experience so far.

Adrianna: Coming from another side of the globe to America without knowing anyone was definitely a brave decision I have never regretted. Being an international student made me feel proud and special. It made me who I am today. I have learned a lot about myself by meeting people I would never have met if I had stayed in Poland. I lived, practiced, traveled, studied, and trained with people from all over the world. All of us were different, looked different, and had different beliefs and habits, yet we could communicate and create great friendships that lasted until today. Being an international athlete has been one of my greatest gifts. It opened my mind to the opportunities the world has.

Your best piece of advice for other student-athletes?

Julia: If you are a passionate athlete and studying in the US is your dream, work hard, take a leap of faith and apply. It's a great way to earn your degree while continuing to play the sport you love. Moreover, connections made in college will stay with you for life. You can have friends around the world and get to know different cultures. Work hard on and off the court. Always stay on top of your school assignments. Your ability to practice and play matches depends on your grades.

Adrianna: Embrace being an athlete and be proud of your achievements. Enjoy the journey, do not rush it, work hard, and have fun. Meet new people. Those friendships might last forever. Even though being a student-athlete is a tough experience, it will help you later in life. You will be stronger in whatever you choose to do next.