Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Standout Soenksen's Summer An International Affair
May 17, 2016 | Lacrosse, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Paige Soenksen is taking the summer off — but the Colorado lacrosse standout's version of a summer break won't fit the conventional description.
Soenksen is taking the summer off from speaking English. The San Diego, Calif., native will spend two months in China in a language immersion program, one in which she will sign a commitment not to speak English during her time there.
It's the communication version of “sink or swim.” Soenksen's competitive nature dictates that she won't be sinking.
“I'm probably a little bit nervous, but I think I'm more excited,” Soenksen said. “It will definitely be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.”
Soenksen won't be going to Shanghai without some solid background in Mandarin, the dialect she'll be speaking. The CU junior is working on a double major at Colorado — Chinese and International Affairs, in which she currently holds a 3.98 GPA — and she just finished her third year of Chinese at CU.
“Technically, by their standards, I've finished advanced Chinese,” Soenksen said. “But I think it will be a different ballgame going to China and speaking with native speakers. It will obviously be a different environment and I'll have to learn how to keep up. But it should be interesting and fun.”
Soenksen isn't the type to shy away from a challenge. As a goalkeeper, she lives for a test, and she's proven to be more than up to the task at Colorado. She's helped the Buffs to winning seasons in each of their first three year of the program, earning all-MPSF honors in each of those three seasons.
Her love of sports also dovetails quite nicely with her love of learning new languages (she studied Spanish throughout high school).
“A new language is a new culture, a new history, a new region — all of that is very interesting,” Soenksen said. “And sports are really an international aspect of life and community. That's what draws me toward sports and languages. People everywhere know sports and it's something that makes it easy to interact with people. It's one of those international things that crosses all kinds of barriers.”
This summer's excursion will be just the latest trip abroad for Soenksen. Over her last Christmas break, she spent a week working in Kingston, Jamaica, schools teaching lacrosse.
“The main goal was essentially to get the game started, teach them how to play and then start up an actual lacrosse league,” Soenksen said. “We basically took over the P.E. classes and taught them the game.”
The experience, she said, provided plenty of rewards in just watching the youngsters' faces.
“We had primary kids up through high school, and most of them had never even seen lacrosse before,” she said. “The most rewarding thing was teaching them how to play, just the basics, and then seeing that moment when it actually clicked. When they would shoot or catch, and it worked — the excitement they had on their faces made me excited as well. It was a great experience.”
Soenksen even had a surprise from her Jamaica trip a month after she arrived back in home.
“I followed up and kept in touch to see what was happening after we left,” she said. “In February, they had the championship game for their league. It actually happened, and that was great to see.”
This summer's trip, however, will also serve as the perfect blend for her double major. Mandarin is the basis of Standard Chinese, the official language of the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, and has more native speakers (nearly 1 billion) than any other language.
“Knowing the language will open up a lot of doors for careers in general,” Soenksen said. “Business, government — there are all kinds of things that it will be very helpful in, depending on what I want to do.”
While Soenksen won't be speaking English over the summer, it won't prevent her from staying in good condition. She's not sure yet whether she'll be able to take her lacrosse stick with her, but she does know she'll be able to fit regular workouts into her schedule.
“It should be a great experience,” she said. “I'll experience a new culture, learn some history and meet new people. And, hopefully when I'm done, be fluent in another language.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
