Izzy Sullivan is a junior on the women's soccer team at Skidmore College, but she hasn't always been stateside for the duration of her collegiate career. In the summer of 2022, Sullivan decided she wanted to go abroad, and ended up deciding to go to Milan, Italy, where she is now. But it's not all pasta and great wine–in October of her 2022 season, she tore her ACL in a game and was out for the rest of the season. Here is what Izzy said about what her experience has been like this semester while abroad and recovering from an injury:

2aDays: What has your experience been like so far abroad?

IS: It's been really awesome, like everything I've imagined it to be. I feel very independent living-wise and meeting new people and traveling and learning new things about the culture. So yeah, I've loved it so far. And it's been a very good experience.

2aDays: What is the best, and also the hardest thing that you've noticed while being abroad?

IS: I would say the hardest thing is being away from my friends at home, and my teammates, and like seeing all of that stuff on social media and missing them and wanting to be there with them. I think that's the hardest part, just being here and leaving basically a whole life at home. The best thing is–this is super contradictory–but the best thing is starting a new life here. I'm making new friends and getting a new life. I live in a gorgeous apartment, and have my own place. I'm taking new classes and being in a new city, new country. 

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2aDays: What advice would you give an athlete who's on the fence of whether or not they should study abroad?

IS: I would say, definitely do it. Because especially being a DIII athlete, we get the opportunity to do that. And if we have it, I would definitely take it. It's an experience that everyone should have. It opens your eyes to so many different things. And if athletes are worried about not being able to play while they're abroad, there are so many opportunities to play while you're abroad. Two of our teammates are both on club teams in different countries right now while abroad, which is so cool. And the programs usually support you, so that you can always find somewhere to play. Also, being abroad in a country where soccer is the main sport is really cool. You get to go to games in real life, and everyone's talking about it all the time. And yeah, wherever you go, soccer is a huge part of the culture in Europe. So yeah, I would definitely say do it. Don't not do it just because you're an athlete, I would definitely do it, highly recommend.

2aDays: What sort of things went into your decision about deciding to go abroad?

IS: I think I'm a very adventurous person. And I have the opportunity to spend four months in a different country and traveling, and I'm definitely going to take that opportunity. That's just the type of person that I am. And I love being independent and trying new things. So I was definitely excited about that. And that when I tore my ACL, it kind of made it even more clear to me that I wanted to go abroad. Because I definitely didn't want to stay at school during the spring. With a torn ACL. I figured if I can't play I might as well be in a different country.

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2aDays: So going off that, you recently tore your ACL in October, what has your physical recovery looked like being in Milan versus the U.S.?

IS: The physical therapy here is so much more intense than the one in the US. In the United States, my sessions for PT were like twice a week, 45 minute sessions, and here, PT is three times a week and the sessions usually go for two hours, two and a half hours. And they have me in the pool two times a week and in the gym one time. And it's super hard. 

It's crazy how much stuff they know here. They know so much about soccer so they really cater [PT] to your sport, which is super cool. There's so many athletes that go to my PT place. I think that doing physical therapy here and recovering here has actually been so good for me, which I was very worried about going to a new country and having to recover. But it's been so good for me. And I think it's actually sped up my recovery a lot.

2aDays: How about the mental recovery? Do you think it's been more or less challenging being away from Skidmore and your friends and your team here?

IS: The mental aspect of it is obviously really challenging–I would say that it's harder than the physical aspect of it because every day, it's like, two steps forward, one step back. So that's definitely hard. But I actually think being away from the team and away from Skidmore has been better for me right now because I think if I was at Skidmore, watching you guys go to lift and spring season in practice, I think it'd be really tough for me to be on the sideline through all that. 

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Here, it's just me doing my own thing individually. But I still have the support of you guys through texts and phone calls. And I send you guys videos of my progress. And I send Lacey [the Skidmore women's soccer head coach] my videos. So I still have the support of you guys, but I don't have to watch it in real life and feel super left out. So I think it's actually been a little bit easier being here.

2aDays: Can you tell us a little bit about what a day in your life looks like?

IS: I have class every day at 9:00 am. Except for Fridays, we don't have class on Friday. So Monday through Thursday, 9:00 am class, and I'm taking three classes in total. So I usually have one or two classes a day. And then I go straight to my internship where I make videos for a tourism company. That usually takes about an hour or two out of my day. And that's really fun, because I get to explore the city, while also working and making videos, which is a lot of fun for me. And then around 3:00 pm I'll go to PT for two to three hours. And then by that time, it's like five or six, and I go home and have dinner and do my homework and go to sleep.

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2aDays: What was it like for you to adjust to a city, especially a city that doesn't speak English primarily?

IS: It was definitely a culture shock right when I got here. It was hard, not speaking Italian right away. But we've actually learned a lot in our Italian classes so that's been helpful. But it was a little bit of a weird adjustment. The fact that they don't eat breakfast was so hard for me–they just have croissants and a small coffee, but I'm a pancakes, egg sandwich, waffles type of girl. And then, eating dinner at 10:00 pm is weird for me because I usually eat at like 6:00 pm. 

And the walking is a lot. I wasn't expecting that. I walk so much throughout the day. And at first that was really hard with my knee. It's gotten better because of recovery, but at first that was tough, and probably one of the hardest adjustments for me. But yeah, I've definitely adjusted and learned to love it.

2aDays: What has been your favorite part about your study abroad experience so far?

IS: Being able to travel. I've always wanted to see as much of the world as possible. And I've been going almost every weekend to a new country because the flights are like $30, and also only an hour away, which is so convenient and nice. So I would definitely say traveling and seeing so many different places that I've been wanting to see.

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Image Credit: Skidmore Athletics

* Originally published on April 13, 2023, by Bella Nevin