By Marco Salas, Media Relations Intern
Arizona State University prides itself in being a diverse school that has accepted 9,000 students from 130 nations and 240 tribal nations. Recently, ASU was ranked the number one institution for international students by the Institute of International Education Open Doors Report.
Among those students are student-athletes who come to ASU to advance their athletic career and education. This year, nearly 100 student-athletes hail from foreign countries but will represent the maroon and gold.
Click here to see a list of Sun Devil international student-athletes.
Jordine Van Klinken, a thrower for the track and field program, came to Tempe from the Netherlands to earn her graduate degree at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Van Klinken wanted to pursue her graduate degree while continuing her athletic career but couldn’t find any programs that suited her in Europe. At ASU she found the best of both worlds and has gained a deep understanding of how much sports mean to Americans.
“I can never know what it’s like to be an American student-athlete but it’s an awesome experience to be in a different country. I don't think there's any other country in the world where you can combine the two [education and athletics] this well. I think there's no other country in a world where there's so much interest in sports. It's viewed as super important, and people celebrate their sports heroes like that, I just think that's so cool,” Van Klinken said.
Being in Tempe, there’s been a lot of firsts and new experiences for Van Klinken. Most recently, Lesnar brought Van Klinken home with her for Thanksgiving so she could experience it. But the important thing Van Klinken has taken from her experience as an international student-athlete is the people she’s met through her school and the stories they bring.
“It's just so interesting that everyone in my school has just such a different background and so much life experience like they're all in their 30s, it's just cool to hear all of their stories.”
During her time in Tempe, she’s grown close with her roommate, teammate, and most importantly, friend, Mya Lesnar.
While Van Klinken is experiencing things for the first time, freshman Enoch Boakye, a center for the men’s basketball team, has gotten used to being away from home.
A native of Brampton, Canada, Boakye knows what it feels like to be away from home. Since ninth grade, Boakye has lived on the east coast, with stops in North Carolina and Arkansas.
“I've been away from home since ninth grade. I went to prep school in North Carolina, and after that, I went to prep school in Arkansas. I then came home for my junior year and kind of senior year, but I've been away from home twice, this is my third time now, so it's something you got to adjust to. After the first two times, I've gotten used to it, and kind of just gained my independence,” Boakye said.
Even though he’s far from home, Boakye still has someone he can go to and talk to. His Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coach and current Men’s assistant coach, George Aramide, has been a figure that’s helped him whenever he needs it.
“He came with me out here, just to make sure I stay focused and achieve the goals I have and mentor me. He's been there for me, just to help me make the right decisions and stay positive.”
“We're honestly super close. The two of us live just outside of campus. We just really get along super well; we're always together, we train together and do a lot of stuff together.”
On the other side of the court and fellow Canadian, Maggie Besselink has found her transition from our neighbor up north easy because of her relationship with teammate Taya Hanson and former ASU Women’s basketball player Quinn Dornstauder.
“I knew Taya Hanson because of the national team, and then Quinn Dornstauder, she's also Canadian, and she's a lot older than I am. but she also went to ASU, and she was on the national team They had my back, they walked me through everything and told me how things were [in Tempe] and what I needed to prepare for.”
Besselink and the five other girls that were in her class came in at a time when sports were at a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The freshmen experience everyone had before Besselink, and her class came in would be something entirely different. Through all of that, Besselink says their bond is close because of what they had to overcome.
“We stuck together through everything, especially through the crazy pandemic year. We fell back on each other when things were uneasy and developed this different kind of bond.”
As these players navigate their way through college athletics, they know they can rely on others to help them along the way. On the volleyball team, junior Iman Isanovic and sophomore Marta Levinska have helped each other adjust to their new home. For Isanovic, having a lot of international players on the team brings a depth that makes the team closer. She believes her team is close because of everyone’s different background and because of that they must learn and understand each other.
“Not a lot of teams have the amount of diversity that we do and by having a lot of international players, we can really get to know each other better because at the end of the day you have to accept the people that you're playing with. I think that consequently, brings our team to kind of maybe develop a bigger bond because you actually have to get to know that person a little bit better to understand them so that we can all function better as a unit.”
Having different players come in from all over the world who play the same game but in a different style can give a team a new identity. For Levinska, she feels that having international players on the team brings a sense of grit for the different styles they face outside of the United States.
“In the U.S., people are trained and raised differently than the people from Europe. I definitely feel we bring a different type of energy because I feel we understand each other a little bit better.”
Overall, international student-athletes share a bond that only they can understand.
“It's nice to see the connection between different people from different parts of the world, and all have the same goal,” Levinska said.
