The Elon University baseball program spent its Thanksgiving break in the Dominican Republic as part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement for its students. In this final journal entry, senior Tyler Stanley reflects on the entire week and what the team will take away from its global experience.
As the 2019-20 Elon baseball team departs from Emotions Resort at 2:30 a.m., our seven-day journey in the Dominican Republic comes to a bittersweet end. We leave behind new friends and take away new memories that will last for a lifetime. Due to the back-to-back early mornings yesterday and today, many of us are busy catching up on our sleep in preparation for our flight back to Estados Unidos.
Exactly one week ago, the Phoenix was about to experience the unique opportunity that Elon University offers its student-athletes: a global experience excursion to a foreign country. Little did we know this trip to the Dominican Republic would be life-changing and educational while making us better baseball players and individuals all at once. Prior to leaving campus, many of us were filled with an abundance of various emotions including nervousness, excitement, and fear. Similar to starting college as a first-year student, these same emotions were experienced by each of us in preparation for our trip during Thanksgiving break.
As one of the ten seniors on this trip, my goal was to create memories for a lifetime while strengthening the relationships with some of my new teammates. When I walked onto the bus at 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, I realized I accomplished these goals, as well as a few others. In addition, I was able to improve my Spanish speaking abilities, learn about a new and different culture, overcome a slight fear of heights, learn how to properly smoke a cigar, and understand what is truly important in my life.
Before leaving the Dominican Republic, Coach Kennedy thanked us for representing our school in a proper manner and reminded us that we just experienced a trip that will connect each member of our team for the rest of our lives. As I reflect on the past week, I now understand the true value of a global experience trip and believe my teammates do as well. Traveling to this beautiful island during the Thanksgiving holiday taught all of us to appreciate the little things we often take for granted on a daily basis.
Leaving the Dominican Republic made us appreciate all of the luxuries we have as a result of living in the United States. For example, we did not have the ability to brush our teeth with the tap water and were forced to use bottle water instead. Little occurrences similar to this made us quickly recognize the things we often take for granted. Also, we were able to take the surplus of baseball equipment we had sitting at our homes to the clinic and provide young Dominican players with much needed equipment to play the game they loved.
Since we were able to closely observe the amount of poverty some of the Dominican citizens were living in and their ability to still remain joyful about their circumstances, it motivated us to return to America with a new outlook on life. Planning this journey during the Thanksgiving holiday allowed each individual on the team to take a step back and evaluate what they were thankful for.
On behalf of the 2019-2020 Elon baseball team, I would like to thank Elon University for understanding the value of providing their student-athletes with this great opportunity to become more well-rounded individuals. ¡Muchas gracias, estamos muy agradecidos!
Tyler Stanley