One common struggle for international students is adjusting to a new country. As they enter the Varsity Blues system, their adjustments are mitigated by their international experience representing their countries.
Bermuda native JayLynn Hines has played sports her whole life, she says. She’s an experienced equestrian and was the captain of Bermuda’s 21-under national netball team. When it came time to choose a post-secondary school, she had to find one that would suit her academically and athletically: “I wanted to pick it for something else other than school, because it was important to me — I’ve been playing sports my whole life.”
Outside of the sports that were popular in Bermuda, Hines developed a passion for softball. She played it in Bermuda, but was looking to compete at a higher level than she could find at home. “I actually looked at different schools. I wanted to go to a school that had a [softball] team, and not a lot of schools in Canada had one. When I saw that U of T did, I thought: perfect!”
Outside of softball, Hines was excited about her academic prospects at U of T. She decided on an Economics major because of the love she had developed for economic theory.
On the field, she was forced to to get used to the new level of competition. “I wasn’t used to balls getting pitched that fast, ” Hines said.
Nonetheless, she was able to adjust to the pitching very quickly. In a game against the uptown rival York Lions, Hines hit two home runs in one game. “I could have stopped playing after that,” she said.
While Hines was playing softball, her adjustment to U of T academically wasn’t as smooth: “Everybody tells you before you get here that it’s academically challenging, but you don’t really believe everyone.” Her major in particular was giving her trouble: “I really liked it in high school. It’s just different here — very math-based. I don’t like sitting around all day and just calculating things.”
Hines took solace in those tough times by looking at both sides of the competitive U of T experience: “I think it’s part of the reason I like it here. You’re not just coming here to goof around and party. You’re actually coming here to be productive. I have a love/hate relationship [with U of T],” she added.
After realizing that the economics program was not what she had expected, she changed majors to environmental geography, in which she now hopes to specialize. This field is growing in Bermuda, so she will be able to return with valuable knowledge.
For Tuna Tali, past member of the Turkish national water polo team, U of T presented a rare opportunity. U of T boasts a water polo team that is consistently in the finals in its division. As well, attending U of T extended the opportunity to compete while studying at a prestigious school.
Previously, Tali played with the national team, in the 2011 summer universiade, won two European championships, and competed on the U20 and U18 Turkish national teams.
Despite U of T’s great success in water polo, coming to play the sport at U of T was a step down from the level he had grown accustomed to: “I wanted to come here for university. I’m not playing for the national team; I’m not as good as I used to be. I wanted to come here and still play and go to school.”
One of the reasons that Tali wanted to go to U of T was for the institution’s academic repuation. He chose to major in a subject that always interested him: economics. However, when it came time to choosing his minors he wasn’t as certain.
Initially, he turned to history and European Studies, but it wasn’t out of a passion for either of the disciplines. “I took them to complete my subject POSTs,” he said. But after taking a class with European Studies Professor, Robert Austin, that changed: “Professor Austin actually made me love history here.”
After developing an interest in subjects that he never thought he would, he was able to focus on his passion for water polo: “I had some problems like any international student,” Tali said. “I wouldn’t say it was extremely hard, somehow I managed to do it.”
After overcoming those challengs, Tali is ready for his fifth season with the Varsity Blues water polo team. Although the level is not as high as it is in Europe, Tali respects his peers: “Many experienced players here, good coaches.”
And he is happy with the choice he made coming to U of T. “There are other teams like Western and York,” Tali said, but “they’re not as successful as U of T. This is the best I could get here.”
It’s apparent after speaking to Hines and Tali that the school’s reputation as an academic institution is as strong as ever. As for the athletic reputation of the school, it continues to grow due to the contributions of international athletes.
