Life as a Dino

Freya Szmidt is a third-year kinesiology student, works with the women’s basketball team, is a track and field athlete, and has had quite the journey to get to UCalgary from England.

She knew she wanted to go abroad to get a degree and pursue her athletic goals. Luckily women’s basketball head coach Damian Jennings reached out to her.

“I was being recruited by and talking to some schools in the States, and then Damian [Jennings, the Dinos' head coach] emailed me. He’s English too so he heard about my plans to play abroad through the grapevine,” Szmidt says.

“I had never even considered Canada as an option and was very ignorant to the opportunities to play and study here. I loved the academics, had heard great things about Damian and I have family in British Columbia, so everything fell into place. And I visited Calgary coincidently when I was nine and had very fond memories when we explored the country.”

 

Despite being so far away from home, Szmidt got a warm welcome from the basketball community and her faculty. One thing she did find tricky was balancing being a student and an athlete, particularly after her first year. She credits her supportive teammates and Dinos' Grade Point Success (GPS) program academic coach Dina Taher for helping her.

“Having older teammates who knew how to have fun in their university experience but who also excelled in their school were definitely my inspiration, and they helped me get on track again and put more into getting good grades,” she says.

“My grades were not pretty and Dina not only got me back on track, but inspired me to do better. And it felt so good to know someone believed in me so much. Especially after being injured, I was reminded that there is more to life than sport, as much as I love it, and education is one of the most important things to setting up your life and achieving your goals.”

Now that she is in her final year, Szmidt says the GPS program taught her invaluable lessons like how to study, make goals and care about her grades.  She highly recommends anyone considering joining the Dinos or applying to study at UCalgary do so.

“If you want to be a part of a family bigger than the sport you do or program you are in, then UCalgary will make you feel at home,” she says.