Eagles Worldwide: Four Student-Athletes To Spend Summer Abroad

Four lucky Eagles will get the opportunity of a lifetime this summer – a chance to study abroad in either Waterford, Ireland, or Paris, France.

Eagles Worldwide was created two years ago by Georgia Southern Athletics’ APEX Program, a branch committed to the holistic growth of student-athletes based on life skills, leadership, career growth, and community engagement, as stated on their website.

The program prepares student-athletes for life after sports by providing exposure to the job process and improving essential skills such as public speaking and proper interview techniques, according to Program Director Gleen Hart.

This is a rare opportunity for student-athletes, as demanding athletic schedules often prevent participation in these types of programs.

Selection for the program was an exhaustive process, according to Hart. Applicants had to be nominated by their head coaches, complete an essay detailing why they wanted to be a part of the program as well as participating in a Zoom interview with the APEX committee and an in-person interview with the Georgia Southern Athletics Senior Staff. 

For this year’s finalists, who will be chronicling their trip through social media and blogging, the excitement is tangible.

Ashley Judson (Jr.) – Rifle

Ashley is a junior from Acworth, Georgia, and a standout member of the women’s rifle team. She plans to become a lawyer and hopes that her summer in Paris will sharpen her public speaking skills. Ashley believes that direct exposure to another culture and its various accents is an excellent way to prepare for her future in law.

“I’m looking forward to the unpredictability of it. – I think the fact that I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be like is what excites me,” said Ashley.

“There are a lot of stereotypes I hear about, and I’ll think, ‘Is this factual? Or is this a stereotype?’ I want to go and learn the facts about everything.”

Siddeeqa Abdur-Rahmad (Jr.) – Track & Field

Siddeeqa is a junior from Chicago, Illinois. She competes in numerous throwing events with Georgia Southern’s track and field team and hopes to one day teach English abroad. She expects her time in Ireland to strengthen her communication skills, and although she will be out of her usual comfort zone, she is very excited about the gloomy weather and the life skills she’ll gain throughout the semester.

“I feel like they’ve given us something more essential than just being an athlete. People forget that when we’re done, there’s a whole other world that we have to adapt to, and this will help us get used to that environment,” said Siddeeqa when asked what she hoped to gain from the program. “I’m about to meet a whole bunch of new people too, which is very exciting.”

Lilly Kasra (So.) – Swimming & Diving

Lilly is from Alpharetta, Georgia, and is no stranger to traveling outside the country, as her three citizenships (in the U.S., Canada, and Iran) speak for themselves. She has visited family in both Iran and Germany in the past. She is a sophomore on the swimming and diving teams and is currently working toward a master’s degree somewhere in the field of public health. 

“It’s nice to learn something new from people. There’s always something to learn. - Being able to actually go there and get hands-on experience is what’s so vital to me and to my career. Learning about what I’m doing in a new setting on my own is an adrenaline rush. As an athlete, you crave that kind of thing,” said Lilly.

Baylor Bumford (Sr.) – Volleyball

Baylor is a fifth-year senior from Winter Garden, Florida. She is very much looking forward to spending her summer semester in Ireland, as it was one of the countries that she was unable to visit on a past trip to Europe. 

“I really like meeting new people, and I think it’ll be cool to meet people from different colleges. I’m really excited to meet the people in Ireland and learn about the culture,” said Baylor.

She’ll be taking a leadership course, from which she hopes to gain wisdom to bring back to the girls on her team. When she graduates, she wants to work in business overseas for a few years and eventually open her own coffee shop. She has wanted to spend a semester abroad for some time now, and she is very excited to finally have the chance.

“As soon as I got into college, I knew I wanted to study abroad, but I never thought I would have the opportunity because of athletics. When this came up, I was eager to jump on it.”