Student-Athletes and Staff Help Costa Rica Community Build Court
2/12/2019 2:50:00 PM | General, Kent State Leads
Photos and Reflection from Melanie Scibilia
By Samantha Ross
Kent State student-athletes and staff quickly learned that there was more behind the service trip than just building a court for Courts for Kids in Costa Rica.
The trip consisted of 13 student-athletes who were accompanied by five athletic staff members to help a local community build a multi-purpose court.
"I put the trip together mostly for the reason that our student-athletes don't get the option to study abroad like typical students," said Katie Schilling, associate director for student-athlete development. "We always say it's not building the court for the community, it's building it with them."
During their time in Costa Rica, they spent three and half days building the court and the last three days were spent with the community.
"The community took us in right from the first night," said football graduate student Matt Bahr. "It was like a partnership this time. We were working hand in hand on the court with the kids."
Costa Rica has very specific gender roles. The women are supposed to stay at home while the men work hard to provide for the family. Throughout the trip, the student-athletes and staff saw the community break out of those specific roles.
"On the first day, the kids watched us work on the court," said Phil Tizio, assistant director of compliance. "By the second day, they had a different attitude. You could see the confidence in the younger girls."
One of the biggest challenges the student-athletes and staff faced with the community was the language barrier. Even though Phil was faced with a task of cooking with the women in the kitchen, he quickly overcame the barrier.
"At first it was difficult to figure out what they wanted me to do," said Phil. "We would use our phones to communicate with each other. After 10 to 15 minutes, you just knew what the other person was saying. You start to understand each other."
One of the main lessons that was learned from the community was to simply let life happen and enjoy every moment.
"As a student-athlete, you have time demands all the time," said Bahr. "In Costa Rica, it's more go with the flow and you enjoy the experience. That is something I'm trying to do here."
Many of the student-athletes and staff didn't know each other before traveling to Costa Rica. The trip was a way to bring people together to build lifelong friendships and experiences.
"One of the most rewarding parts of the trip was getting to know our student-athletes better and helping them get to know me better," said Tizio. "In my role, I don't have a whole lot of face-to-face contact with them. I consider all of them good friends now."
The community was very appreciative for what the student-athletes and staff had done for them. When it was time for them to leave, everyone was in tears.
"It was very emotional to leave," said Schilling. "A lot of men were crying when we left. That's something that they made aware to us that men in Costa Rica don't cry because it's a sign of weakness. For them to open up and share that with us was very emotional for everyone."
Kent State athletics intends to plan a Courts for Kids trip every year and a half to two years. They hope to plan another trip for May 2020, allowing student-athletes in winter sports an opportunity to participate.
Student-Athletes
Joshua Allen – Men's Cross Country
Sydney Anderson – Softball
Matt Bahr – Football
Hunter Brancifort – Softball
Lizz Hathaway – Soccer
Kevin Jones – Men's Cross Country
Amy Kober – Volleyball
Amanda Reed – Soccer
Melanie Scibilia – Field Hockey
Kaeleigh Stang – Volleyball
Danie Tyson – Volleyball
Vanessa Vodan – Softball
Courtney Weise – Field Hockey
Athletic Staff
Mark Croghan – Field House Facility Manager
Jessie Ely – Special Assistant to Athletic Director
Stephanie Rosinski – Associate Athletic Director for Compliance
Katie Schilling – Associate Director for Student-Athlete Development
Phil Tizio – Assistant Director for Compliance
