Finding the ropes of varsity in during a pandemic
A sports science student talks about how she experienced her first few months at university and how the pandemic contributed to her experience.
Desiree Gases
Born and raised in Windhoek, Sade Amor de Sousa has always had a profound love for sports, and now most of her life revolves around sports. “What better way than to study something that you actually like?” she says.
De Sousa moved to the United States in January this year to pursue a bachelor’s degree in human performance and sports science at New Mexico Highlands University.
Because it is her first year, or freshman year as they call it in the US, De Sousa has not been facing many challenges other than the fact that she struggled a bit with adapting to the school system in the US, which is radically different from the Namibian one.
Zone asked De Sousa what it is like to go to university in a foreign country during a pandemic.
“School started for the second semester on 14 August and for the first week of school we had face-to-face classes but that changed because we had a Covid outbreak at school so we all had to go back to virtual classes,” she replied.
“And when one thinks of the States, you think you’re going to have this great college experience amidst a pandemic and that really wasn’t the case for me and that made it difficult because I couldn’t go anywhere and I couldn’t do anything.”
It was a lot more difficult in the first semester because she was far away from home and out of her comfort zone, so it was difficult to make friends and interact with fellow students.
De Sousa says she is more optimistic about the second semester because they are more on track now, and things and places are opening up.
“There are more activities on campus now. I am actually starting to get that college feel of what university is actually like,” she adds
When asked what advice she would give learners in high school who want to do the same course, De Sousa said: “When doing human performance and sports science, it is very important to have time management skills, so don’t forget to manage your time correctly and don’t forget to look after your mental health.”
Born and raised in Windhoek, Sade Amor de Sousa has always had a profound love for sports, and now most of her life revolves around sports. “What better way than to study something that you actually like?” she says.
De Sousa moved to the United States in January this year to pursue a bachelor’s degree in human performance and sports science at New Mexico Highlands University.
Because it is her first year, or freshman year as they call it in the US, De Sousa has not been facing many challenges other than the fact that she struggled a bit with adapting to the school system in the US, which is radically different from the Namibian one.
Zone asked De Sousa what it is like to go to university in a foreign country during a pandemic.
“School started for the second semester on 14 August and for the first week of school we had face-to-face classes but that changed because we had a Covid outbreak at school so we all had to go back to virtual classes,” she replied.
“And when one thinks of the States, you think you’re going to have this great college experience amidst a pandemic and that really wasn’t the case for me and that made it difficult because I couldn’t go anywhere and I couldn’t do anything.”
It was a lot more difficult in the first semester because she was far away from home and out of her comfort zone, so it was difficult to make friends and interact with fellow students.
De Sousa says she is more optimistic about the second semester because they are more on track now, and things and places are opening up.
“There are more activities on campus now. I am actually starting to get that college feel of what university is actually like,” she adds
When asked what advice she would give learners in high school who want to do the same course, De Sousa said: “When doing human performance and sports science, it is very important to have time management skills, so don’t forget to manage your time correctly and don’t forget to look after your mental health.”
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