Thomas Donato arrived on Alden Street from Italy to begin his graduate education in the Athletic Counseling master’s program. He shares his experiences as an international student and how his Athletic Counseling program has contributed to his overall experience at the College and how his knowledge of this field has evolved. 

Coming to the U.S. and to Springfield College, I felt a cultural transition for sure. And it's been really nice to have the International Center here at school. The staff hold a lot of events for international students and the community to make us feel welcomed and included. They really know the ins and outs of being an international student and can really help with documentation and all kinds of questions related to being an international student. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is another great resource, especially for international students, because it's just an open space where students like to come hang out and just be themselves and share stories about themselves.

It can be really difficult and challenging to find your own voice at school where everything's different. People speak a different language, there are different norms. People act in different ways. Belonging starts with finding out what you value and what you believe in and try to bring that genuine part of you to every room that you walk in and really embracing the fact that it's not about being normal, whatever that means or being the same as other people. It's more about bringing your uniqueness and what makes you special to every room so that people can lean in, appreciate that, and you can do the same for other people.

I am a graduate associate in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and that's where I spend most of my time outside of the classroom and field work. There I have the opportunity to interact with a lot of students from various backgrounds. These students are wonderful because they hold different identities that are different from mine. So again, it's a great space for me to learn how to interact with them, be relatable to them, and just learn from them and their stories. I think that's a really cool opportunity that I've been able to experience every week.

My experience in the Athletic Counseling program has allowed me to build a deeper connection to the campus and to the students. Part of our program is field work, and I spent a great deal of time just connecting and working with several teams and athletes from different sports. And in doing so, I've been able to really build rapport and trust and cultivate meaningful relationships with athletes and teams that I wouldn’t have otherwise. 

My understanding of athletic counseling has evolved from when I got here to now. Starting out in the program, I really felt like I would be this sort of external student, much like a consultant would go in and work with a professional team or a collegiate team and really just give advice and share expertise. But I found that not to be accurate. And just in working with some of the coaches here, they've been super welcoming and open to have their athletes work on mindset and talk about mental health and the importance of training as a whole—your physical side or your mental side. So, my understanding went from giving advice to leaning in on the expertise and knowledge that a lot of these coaches here hold. I've also come to appreciate much more the relationship and the trust that has built between myself and the athletes and teams that I work with. I spend 99% of my efforts and attention to cultivating that relationship because that comes first—and they are people first before athletes.