Foreign exchange students from around the world come to Green Hope to experience new cultures, learn new languages and interact with other students. Although cultures may vary, one thing provides common ground for people all over the world: sports. One of Green Hope’s foreign exchange students, Anouchka “AK” Dailly (’25), has already made a mark on the Green Hope womens basketball team. She sat down with the GH Falcon to discuss her journey to Green Hope and how sports are an integral part of this life-changing event.
AK came to Green Hope from Switzerland, and as is expected, the change is a lot to take in. She discussed what she thought was the hardest part of her change to Green Hope, saying “I was enrolled three weeks late, and it was tough to catch up on the AP classes I’ve been taking, but I’ve been keeping myself occupied with basketball practice.”
Alongside her education, she has already delved into Green Hope’s numerous athletic programs. Being open in her options, she talked about her plan for sports, stating “I’m currently doing preseason workouts for basketball because I played basketball for a while back in Switzerland, and then in the Spring, I plan to play softball.”
AK is prepared for the basketball season to roll around. She discussed how she played basketball back in Switzerland, but went into further detail and talked about how she played for the Swiss National team, an impressive feat that is sure to help boost the Green Hope team to victory. When asked if she would continue to play when she returned to Switzerland, she responded enthusiastically, saying “Yes, definitely.”
The process of moving across the world to a completely new and unfamiliar school and home would be stressful for anyone, but AK talked about how basketball has helped her to connect with other students and get used to her new home. She discussed her fears and how they were quickly dissolved, saying “I was scared that since I missed the first day of school I would have trouble integrating with the other kids, but the basketball practices helped me find friends and friend groups to go out to lunch with, and one of my friends introduced me to a lot of people at the school.”
To further see how athletics can help people connect, we sat down with one of AK’s teammates on the Green Hope Women’s Basketball team, Rachael Baldyga (‘26). Baldyga met AK through basketball and discussed how their relationship has grown from their similar interests. Baldyga said, “Our relationship is still growing both on and off the court. As a team we’ve all been out to lunch together and we hang out after practice. We love having fun even while we’re working.”
Seeing as how the two teammates met and connected through basketball, Baldyga had a valuable opinion on how being part of the team has helped AK connect and fit in at Green Hope. She states “I think that being a part of the team has helped her connect. It’s easy to get along because we have similar interests and our team is super welcoming.”
These opportunities to connect are not just limited to foreign exchange students. Baldyga talked about her own experience on this matter regarding sports, saying “playing several sports has helped build some of the strongest connections I have. Being an athlete is hard to balance with school, so we all go through the same problems and are always there for each other.” Baldyga added onto this, saying “I think that extracurriculars, especially sports, are a great way to make friends. Finding people who have the same interests and passion is a great way to build connections in the school and community.”
The last thing any person would want would be to be in an unfamiliar place with no way to connect or reach out. It is thanks to sports that many students and athletes can feel at home in their sport, building a connection with the team, and knowing they have someone to rely on with every touchdown, three-pointer or home run they score.
