University of North Carolina Athletics
Athlete Awards
Alex Cooke
- Award:
- Athletes of the Week
- Week:
- 9/20/2017
- Sport:
- Track & Field
- Bio:
- View Full Bio
North Carolina's Marika Akkerman and Alex Cooke are used to balancing academics and athletics as they study and compete as college student-athletes, Akkerman as a sport administration-communication studies double major on the women's tennis team and Cooke as a psychology major on the women's track and field team. But this summer, both took that challenging combination abroad, coaching and teaching in rural Vietnam with the Coach for College program.
The Tar Heels were there during different windows – Akkerman June to July and Cooke July to August – and were at different sites in the Mekong Delta region, but returned with similar feelings about the trip.
"I didn't know what to expect, but it was more than I imagined," Cooke said. "It helped me grow so much and helped me realize how important it is that I take going to school here and participating in sports for what they're worth – they both have so much value. As athletes we maybe take our sports for granted, but there were so many kids there who wanted to do what we do, but don't have those opportunities."
Akkerman and Cooke both initially heard about the program at UNC's annual Student-Athlete Career Fair, an event that gives students the opportunity to learn about jobs, internships and opportunities.
"I wanted to do something to boost my resume and get experience," Akkerman said. "I'm in sports management so I wanted something that overlapped with sports. I knew some people who had done it and I'd only heard positive things. The more I looked into it the more excited I was, and I really hoped I'd get accepted and I did."
Cooke, too, was looking for a valuable summer experience and she applied along with track teammate Sam Miller, a May 2017 UNC graduate and the third Tar Heel who participated in the Coach for College program last summer.
Akkerman, a junior from Boca Raton, Fla., had traveled extensively through tennis and had been to Asia before, but only in metropolitan areas, so the rural villages were a new experience. Cooke, a junior from Lowgap, N.C., had only been out of the U.S. on a cruise, so the entire experience of traveling internationally was new for her.
At each site, 10-15 student-athletes from U.S. universities teamed with 10-15 Vietnamese university students to teach English and sports to middle school students from rural communities. The shared experience created bonds between student-athletes from different schools. Akkerman teamed with a Princeton field hockey player to teach soccer, both of them drawing drills from their own sports. "But it was about making it fun, teaching them teamwork skills more than soccer technique," she said.
For the English lessons, they were given a syllabus, but then were free to devise games and activities to help the students learn. "English was definitely the most rewarding part because you could see and hear the improvement," said Akkerman, who got teary when she saw the progress her students had made.
Cooke's roommate was a softball player at UNCG, she taught English with a pole vaulter from South Carolina, and she coached volleyball (a sport Cooke played in middle school and high school) with a swimmer from Northwestern. Since returning, she's kept in touch with many of the other students from her site, and Akkerman was able to catch up with her partner last weekend when the Princeton field hockey team played at Duke.
The summer experience helped both move toward what they may want to do after graduation. Cooke is considering school psychology and sports psychology and leaning toward the former after working with the Vietnamese middle school students.
Akkerman is planning on graduate school in sports management, but after the Coach for College experience is considering a non-profit angle as well. "It's just so rewarding," she said.
Both would recommend the experience to other student-athletes considering Coach for College.
"I didn't really know what to expect and I just went in with an open mind," Akkerman said. "It was even better than I thought it would be. It was incredible. The people I met and the kids I got to work with were great. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
The Tar Heels were there during different windows – Akkerman June to July and Cooke July to August – and were at different sites in the Mekong Delta region, but returned with similar feelings about the trip.
"I didn't know what to expect, but it was more than I imagined," Cooke said. "It helped me grow so much and helped me realize how important it is that I take going to school here and participating in sports for what they're worth – they both have so much value. As athletes we maybe take our sports for granted, but there were so many kids there who wanted to do what we do, but don't have those opportunities."
Akkerman and Cooke both initially heard about the program at UNC's annual Student-Athlete Career Fair, an event that gives students the opportunity to learn about jobs, internships and opportunities.
"I wanted to do something to boost my resume and get experience," Akkerman said. "I'm in sports management so I wanted something that overlapped with sports. I knew some people who had done it and I'd only heard positive things. The more I looked into it the more excited I was, and I really hoped I'd get accepted and I did."
Cooke, too, was looking for a valuable summer experience and she applied along with track teammate Sam Miller, a May 2017 UNC graduate and the third Tar Heel who participated in the Coach for College program last summer.
Akkerman, a junior from Boca Raton, Fla., had traveled extensively through tennis and had been to Asia before, but only in metropolitan areas, so the rural villages were a new experience. Cooke, a junior from Lowgap, N.C., had only been out of the U.S. on a cruise, so the entire experience of traveling internationally was new for her.
At each site, 10-15 student-athletes from U.S. universities teamed with 10-15 Vietnamese university students to teach English and sports to middle school students from rural communities. The shared experience created bonds between student-athletes from different schools. Akkerman teamed with a Princeton field hockey player to teach soccer, both of them drawing drills from their own sports. "But it was about making it fun, teaching them teamwork skills more than soccer technique," she said.
For the English lessons, they were given a syllabus, but then were free to devise games and activities to help the students learn. "English was definitely the most rewarding part because you could see and hear the improvement," said Akkerman, who got teary when she saw the progress her students had made.
Cooke's roommate was a softball player at UNCG, she taught English with a pole vaulter from South Carolina, and she coached volleyball (a sport Cooke played in middle school and high school) with a swimmer from Northwestern. Since returning, she's kept in touch with many of the other students from her site, and Akkerman was able to catch up with her partner last weekend when the Princeton field hockey team played at Duke.
The summer experience helped both move toward what they may want to do after graduation. Cooke is considering school psychology and sports psychology and leaning toward the former after working with the Vietnamese middle school students.
Akkerman is planning on graduate school in sports management, but after the Coach for College experience is considering a non-profit angle as well. "It's just so rewarding," she said.
Both would recommend the experience to other student-athletes considering Coach for College.
"I didn't really know what to expect and I just went in with an open mind," Akkerman said. "It was even better than I thought it would be. It was incredible. The people I met and the kids I got to work with were great. I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Date | Athlete | Sport |
|---|---|---|
| 11/10/2023 | Christopher Holliday | Football |
| 10/24/2023 | Perry Becker | Swimming & Diving |
| 10/16/2023 | Riley Quartermain | Women's Golf |
| 9/29/2023 | Elijah Green | Football |
| 9/8/2023 | Alyssa Ustby | Women's Basketball |
| 8/28/2023 | Julia Knower | Women's Gymnastics |
| 8/15/2023 | Henry Shugart | Fencing |
| 8/1/2023 | Rob Landry | Men's Basketball |
Friday, August 07
Tuesday, August 04
Thursday, July 30
Thursday, July 30
