University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
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Paige Williams Enjoys Abroad Experience in England
5/29/2019 7:28:00 PM | Gymnastics
Wylie, Texas native Paige Williams thought moving to the Twin Cities to compete as a gymnast for the University of Minnesota was the furthest she'd ever travel for her degree. Little did she know she'd choose to fly across the Atlantic and spend three weeks studying in England to fulfill one of the requirements of her major.
"I feel like people go abroad all the time and everyone thinks 'that's so cool!' but I've never been out of the country before," said Williams. "It's something I'd honestly never thought about doing before or that I'd do in my entire life."
The rising senior is completing her degree in Business Marketing Education (BME) at the U, which has a few requirements that are tough to balance with her training and competition schedule.
"In BME you either have to do an internship where you complete a certain number of hours or you can go abroad," explained Williams. "I was leaning more towards the internship, but I would have had to do it next spring, which would be really difficult to do during season with us traveling every weekend."
So, as she planned for her graduation in the spring of 2020, Williams realized that the best way for her to fulfill her major's requirements would be stepping out of her comfort zone and choosing the option to take a class abroad. With her necessary training and a full 12-week competition season, traveling abroad during the May term rather than a full semester was the perfect compromise for Williams's schedule. With the need to study in an English-speaking country, Minnesota's program based in England seemed to be her best option.
The three-week program has seen Williams living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and attending class through Northumbria University. With a location in the regional capital, participants have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in centuries of culture and historical sites.
Williams and her peers have been exploring the city every other class period and working on a personalized history project to turn in at the end of their course in addition to an online exam. The group will also have the opportunity to travel independently for part of their time abroad.
"The second week over there we get Friday off so we have a longer weekend to take a train up to London," said Williams. "I've never been there, so I'm excited to see everything!"
The vault and floor specialist also has had to keep up with her training while across the pond, as gymnastics is not a sport that allows athletes much, if any, time away from the gym.
"They have facilities in the city we are staying in since it's basically a college town," said Williams. "I have a workout plan, and I have free passes to the gym so I plan to train around three times a week while I'm there. I'll be doing more strength and conditioning work than anything overly gymnastics related."
Four other Golden Gopher athletes--one volleyball player, one women's hockey player and two women's basketball players--accompanied Williams on the May-term sojourn in the United Kingdom. All the travelers, regardless of their student-athlete status, went through multiple rounds of applications for the program as they had to attain approval from Minnesota and Northumbria University. Williams had another hoop to jump through in order to make her abroad possibility a reality.
"I'd never been out of the country, so I had to go through the process of getting a passport to do this," laughed Williams. "Minnesota made the process really easy, but it was still all so new to me."
For a girl who never planned on leaving the United States, she has been using her time abroad to expand her horizons and take in the sights and traditions of a different culture. The idea of certain foods and the forced independence of flying thousands of miles away from home made her hesitant originally, but Williams summed up her attitude towards the program best when she said, "Despite being so nervous, I'm willing to try a few new things since this whole experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"I feel like people go abroad all the time and everyone thinks 'that's so cool!' but I've never been out of the country before," said Williams. "It's something I'd honestly never thought about doing before or that I'd do in my entire life."
The rising senior is completing her degree in Business Marketing Education (BME) at the U, which has a few requirements that are tough to balance with her training and competition schedule.
"In BME you either have to do an internship where you complete a certain number of hours or you can go abroad," explained Williams. "I was leaning more towards the internship, but I would have had to do it next spring, which would be really difficult to do during season with us traveling every weekend."
So, as she planned for her graduation in the spring of 2020, Williams realized that the best way for her to fulfill her major's requirements would be stepping out of her comfort zone and choosing the option to take a class abroad. With her necessary training and a full 12-week competition season, traveling abroad during the May term rather than a full semester was the perfect compromise for Williams's schedule. With the need to study in an English-speaking country, Minnesota's program based in England seemed to be her best option.
The three-week program has seen Williams living in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and attending class through Northumbria University. With a location in the regional capital, participants have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in centuries of culture and historical sites.
Williams and her peers have been exploring the city every other class period and working on a personalized history project to turn in at the end of their course in addition to an online exam. The group will also have the opportunity to travel independently for part of their time abroad.
"The second week over there we get Friday off so we have a longer weekend to take a train up to London," said Williams. "I've never been there, so I'm excited to see everything!"
The vault and floor specialist also has had to keep up with her training while across the pond, as gymnastics is not a sport that allows athletes much, if any, time away from the gym.
"They have facilities in the city we are staying in since it's basically a college town," said Williams. "I have a workout plan, and I have free passes to the gym so I plan to train around three times a week while I'm there. I'll be doing more strength and conditioning work than anything overly gymnastics related."
Four other Golden Gopher athletes--one volleyball player, one women's hockey player and two women's basketball players--accompanied Williams on the May-term sojourn in the United Kingdom. All the travelers, regardless of their student-athlete status, went through multiple rounds of applications for the program as they had to attain approval from Minnesota and Northumbria University. Williams had another hoop to jump through in order to make her abroad possibility a reality.
"I'd never been out of the country, so I had to go through the process of getting a passport to do this," laughed Williams. "Minnesota made the process really easy, but it was still all so new to me."
For a girl who never planned on leaving the United States, she has been using her time abroad to expand her horizons and take in the sights and traditions of a different culture. The idea of certain foods and the forced independence of flying thousands of miles away from home made her hesitant originally, but Williams summed up her attitude towards the program best when she said, "Despite being so nervous, I'm willing to try a few new things since this whole experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
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