Gabby Sedares ’19, Athlete and Academic Abroad
Sedares is a Healthcare Administration major, field hockey star, and aspiring physical therapist.
Sedares is a Healthcare Administration major, field hockey star, and aspiring physical therapist.
How has your time at Arcadia helped you grow?
I’ve become more independent, at least enough to travel all the way across the world alone. I used to be terrified to make phone calls, but I had to call like 50 million people to find my lost luggage on the way to Australia. I’m so much more confident in my speaking and communicating abilities. I went to Arcadia with the intent to study abroad, but never thought about how I would get there or where I would end up. I’m glad everything up to this point has happened, because those past experiences are what got me here.
This semester you are studying abroad at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia. Tell me about your study-abroad experience thus far.
Everything has by far exceeded my expectations. Specifically, the campus is amazing. I love the architecture at Bond, and it is comforting to have small classes just like Arcadia. I had no idea how quickly I would get close to the people I have met. Some of my best friends from this trip go to school in Iowa and Nebraska— how crazy is that? The opportunity to make friends with non-Arcadia students was so cool to me. It was nice that we were kind of forced to make those connections and relationships in orientation back in January, because now everything feels much easier.
How do you balance playing field hockey, taking Physical Therapy classes, and maintaining a decent social life?
I actually do better in season than out of season because when I have less free time, it makes it easier for me to time-manage. When I’m not practicing everyday or having to set aside seven hours of games per week, I end up wasting even more of my time. Having structure really helps me. Being in Australia, I have more free time, but I also have more stuff that I want to do in my free time, so I feel the same kind of structure. It’s like, “I know I need to get this paper done by this day so I can go to the beach,” as opposed to “I need to get this paper done because I have a game tomorrow night.”
What do you think life will be like once you return from studying abroad?
I’ll probably cry every day! But in all seriousness, I will be a little sad for a while. Whenever anyone asks me how my experience was, I’m not going to want to talk about it, just because I don’t think anyone will be able to understand the amazing experiences that I had while studying here in Australia. But also I am going to be so happy that I’ve had this opportunity. It has truly been the best experience in the world, and I’m so happy I decided to come here.
