Making a racquet

School and tennis may seem like typical activities, but try doing them in three years on a different continent from where you spent your childhood.

This is how Isabell Raich of the Marshall University women's tennis team has lived her life since leaving her hometown of Klaus, Austria. Raich, senior business management major, has not only left her home country but has excelled at both school and tennis.

"Overall I have a 3.6 GPA and the last two semesters I received a 4.0," Raich said. "I am graduating early but I want to use my last year of eligibility. So, I am going to Lynn University in Florida to play for a year and get my MBA. Hopefully the second year down there I will be the assistant coach." 

Raich, who took English and French from fifth grade on in Austria, said her English and schoolwork has improved since coming to Marshall.

"In the beginning, the language barrier made it so much harder to study and understand what was going on," Raich said. "Now it is more natural and I can focus on class. Not only that, but the professors and everyone have been really helpful."     

Kara Kucin, a freshmen member of the tennis team and Raich's doubles partner, attributes Raich's success in school to her work ethic.

"She is a hard worker," Kucin said. "When everyone else is asleep in the van, she has the light on studying."

When Raich first decided to come to Marshall, her family was hesitant of her studying so far away.

"When I grew up, I was never away from home except twice in the summer, and I thought I was going to die," Raich said. "I am a person who gets really homesick, so I never thought I would study far away.

"My dad also thought I would not make it very long. He thought I would only stay three weeks but when I got here I wasn't homesick. With tennis and school, I never had time to think about it."

Friends back home were also surprised to hear she would be going to school so far away.

"In the beginning, everyone was shocked, not in a negative way, but just surprised," Raich said. "It is not common to go that far for school. I didn't just leave the country, I left the continent."

 To cope with the big move, Raich and her friends had a huge going away party and now do it every summer when she gets ready to return to school. 

"We keep in touch, but with some of my friends I've gotten even closer," Raich said.

Besides being a student athlete living time zones away from her hometown, Raich is just like any other college-age student who enjoys relaxing when she can find the time.

"How I Met Your Mother is the best show, it is my favorite. I also really like to go to the movies," Raich said.

Raich may like television and the movies but her real love is something she does not have back home.

"I love Cold Stone," Raich said. "Back home we only have the regular ice cream cones and you can not mix anything in. The first time my team took me Cold Stone, it was amazing. I also like Panera but nothing comes close to Cold Stone."

Raich's family has not been able to visit her at Marshall but may get the chance to try her favorite treats when they attend their daughter's graduation in May.

"Just my parents are coming for my graduation," Raich said. "Years ago in Austria there was no requirement to learn English. So they don't speak it at all, it is going to be really funny when they come over here."

With Raich's three years of speaking fluent English, her parents are sure to not have any troubles getting lost in translation, and they are sure to be proud of their daughter who showed them and everyone else that the college experience is not about where you go, but what you make of it.

Raich along with the rest of the women's tennis team are waiting to see if they receive a team berth into the NCAA tournament, after a second place finish in the C-USA tournament. The announcement should be made May 7.   

Ellen Kist can be contacted at kist@marshall.edu.