Immersed in Thailand: Ryan Makes Most of Time Off the Field

Most student-athletes will go pro in something other than sports. In order to find success in what comes next, athletes must make the most of their time away from sports. Temple lacrosse senior, Julia Ryan, has done just that during her time at Temple.

Following a summer internship with TD Bank, Ryan was offered a full-time position within the bank's Corporate and Specialty Banking sector in the Cherry Hill, N.J., office.

Accepting a job offer was not a reason to take the foot of the gas for Ryan. Even in her final few months at Temple, she is taking opportunities to better herself as a young professional.

As an international business major in the Fox School of Business, students have the opportunity to take part in global immersion trips. Most recently in the new year, Ryan took part in the school's trip to Thailand.

"The trip is designed to provide business students of any major or grade level with an immersive learning experience in a new country," explained Ryan. "Students are given opportunities to learn about the business environment and the culture in a short study abroad trip."

During the seven days in Thailand, the group had the opportunity to visit several cultural sites along with meetings at corporations.

"We visited companies in a variety of industries including marketing, advertising agencies, pharmaceuticals, apparel, car manufacturing, and non-profits," said Ryan. Some of the companies the students visited were GQ Apparel, Ford, Operation Smile Thailand, and CoffeeWorks.

"It's wonderful that Temple offers such amazing educational experiences for its students," head lacrosse coach Bonnie Rosen said. "Julia truly is an exceptional student-athlete who is always looking to grow academically and personally. I know the lessons and memories of this trip will last a lifetime."

This trip had several highlights that made the 60 hours of roundtrip travel worth it for Ryan.

"The highlight of the trip for me was getting to take a peek into Buddhist culture, visiting all the temples, following dress codes, and even taking shoes off before entering rooms," said Ryan.

The ability to take in another country's culture is something that offers a completely different perspective for Americans.

"In a country where one religion truly dominates, it was amazing that they allowed so many tourists to visit and see how beautiful the temples were and to begin learning about the religion," added Ryan.

As the spring semester gets underway, goals are high for Ryan on the lacrosse field but professional development has not taken a back seat. This trip allowed her and many other students to check off professional bucket list items.

"One of my career goals has always been to travel internationally for work and this trip demonstrated that there are so many options for Americans to work internationally," said Ryan.

Julia Ryan is yet another example of the incredible success achieved off the field by Temple student-athletes.

Temple University Athletics

Immersed in Thailand: Ryan Makes Most of Time Off the Field

Players Mentioned

Julia Ryan

Related Videos