SE: 15 Wildcats Eager to Build Court, Experience New Culture in Nicaragua

From the Flint Hills to the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes, 15 K-State student-athletes depart Manhattan on Saturday for a nine-day service trip to Nicaragua. It marks K-State's second trip through a partnership between its "Cats Across Continents" program and Courts for Kids, which brings countries in need of a multi-purpose court together with groups willing to help build it.

The experience of living in an impoverished area of a country will be eye opening and life changing, multiple Wildcats agreed.

"It really opens your eyes to different perspectives because we live in a bubble, being in America," said K-State rowing senior Samantha Bendrick, who's been on several service trips before but none since coming to K-State. "Being athletes at a Division I school, we have a lot of things that are really cool, that are perks, but going on trips like this really opens your eyes to what the real world is like in other places."

Director of Sport Psychology Ian Connole, one of four K-State Athletics staff members going on the trip, described this process as a "perspective shift."

"When we get to have a perspective shift like this, it becomes so much easier to come back and look at everything with completely new eyes and have a new light of, 'Wow. We really have it made,'" he said. "That's one of the things that's most exciting for me, personally, but even more so for the development of our student-athletes. It's just a natural gratitude and appreciation that comes with being able to see the way other people live."

While in Nicaragua, the group will work with the community of Las Camarcas de la Laguna de Apoyo — located near the city of Granada — to build a multi-purpose sports court from scratch. This court will be available all day and evenings every day of the week, offering the community of about 3,000 people a viable and safe space to play multiple sports and host various events.

"Going to an impoverished area in Nicaragua, getting to experience a different country, different culture, a different style of living and providing for them and investing in them for a little over a week is going to definitely be neat," said K-State men's basketball sophomore Pierson McAtee.

Added K-State rowing senior Marissa Butrum: "Getting something that their whole community can be proud of, that's a benefit for them but it's also cool for us knowing that they have that and we helped make it possible."

While the focus of the trip will be to build the court, the Wildcats will also interact with the community members on a cultural level. They will sleep in a local school, experience Nicaraguan food and interact with the locals in many different ways.

"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to be immersed in a different culture," said K-State track and field senior Keiteyana Parks, making her first trip out of the country. "I think it honestly will be one of the things I remember forever from college."

Throughout the year, K-State student-athletes give back to the Manhattan community through service projects such as Cats in the Classroom and Adopt-A-Family, but this trip, K-State baseball senior Steve Serratore said, takes it a "step further."

"It says a lot about K-State. There's a lot more to an athletic program than just the sports aspect. You're trying to give back any way you can," he said. "I'm grateful to K-State to be able to have this opportunity and obviously I'm excited about it."

"A lot of student-athletes wouldn't have had a chance to go out of the country and even participate in these types of events without athletics because we're already on a busy schedule," added track and field senior Terrell Smith. "This opportunity is amazing and not too many people or too many schools offer these types of developmental programs. K-State is doing a great job of it."

On top of allowing student-athletes the chance to travel abroad, rare for most because of training requirements, this trip also creates an environment for them to interact with people on different teams, which can also be difficult during the school year.

"So just to reach out to other sports groups and see how K-State Athletics comes together to make a difference," K-State track and field senior Zanri van der Merwe said, "that will be great to work together as a team."

Cats Across Continents Student-Athletes

Samantha Bendrick, women's rowing

Kayla Brock, women's rowing

Marissa Butrum, women's rowing

Mitchell Dixon, men's track and field

Kaneil Harrison, men's track and field

Jordan Lund, women's rowing

Pierson McAtee, men's basketball

Keiteyana Parks, women's track and field

Maddie Petersen, women's rowing

Grace Reilly, women's rowing

Steve Serratore, baseball

Rhizlane Siba, women's track and field

Terrell Smith, men's track and field

Zack Supple, men's track and field

Zanri van der Merwe, women's track and field

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: 15 Wildcats Eager to Build Court, Experience New Culture in Nicaragua

Players Mentioned

Samantha Bendrick

Kayla Brock

Marissa Butrum

Jordan Lund

Pierson McAtee

Maddie Petersen

Grace Reilly

Steve Serratore

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