First in a series highlighting international student-athletes at Morehead State, their cultures, and why they chose to attend Morehead State. If you are an international student, there are wonderful resources to help you attend MSU. Click here for more information. This series is also being researched and written by an international student-athlete herself, Bridget Connolly, from New Zealand.

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Alina Sophie-Koch is an international student from Germany, playing on the Women's Golf team here at Morehead State University. She is about to finish her junior year and is majoring in chemistry. Leaving home and moving to a different country to study and play a Division I sport is a big decision. Alina explains why she decided to make this move.

"Germany's university system is different. There is not really an option to get a degree and continue to play your sport of choice at such a high level as it is possible at the colleges in America. So, I reached out to an agency which helps international students/athletes to meet multiple coaches from all over the US and possibly getting a scholarship. (Morehead State) Coach (Stephanie) Barker reached out to me early on, we had some good conversation, and I really liked her philosophy and the overall atmosphere. So, when she made me an offer to come to Morehead State on a scholarship, I agreed. I had some other offers as well, but Morehead State made the best one and I also just really liked the location of the university and that is was a rather small school."

One of the biggest issues that most international athletes face when arriving to a different country is culture shock, and for Alina the biggest one was the language barrier.

Living in a country that doesn't use English as a first language made the transition to living in America a lot more challenging.

"Even though I had English in school for more than twelve years at this point, there is still quite the difference between being good at school English and actually being able to follow and engage in conversations," she said.

Another challenge that all international students face is homesickness. Fortunately for most student athletes, being able to go home and visit your family and friends is an option. However for most international students this is only viable during summer and winter break. Sophie-Koch says she misses the food and scenery and of course her family and friends back in Germany.

"Europe in general has a much bigger variety of cheese and bread, which I both love to eat and sometimes just also being able to eat homecooked food from my mom," she said. "There is a lot of variety in the scenery, with both mountains and oceans. I am proud to be from Germany because we have such a close community and everyone really cares about themselves and their country."

Alina grew up playing golf, however sports in Germany are very different to America.

"In Germany, all sports are organized privately. So, if you want to play and compete in a sport you will have to do that outside of high school in the afternoon/evening, and the schools also don't really take into consideration how much time one has to invest in playing and competing in a sport," she commented. "Therefore, at least for me there was always less practice just because I had school most of the day and could only practice in the evenings. Most of the practice is on the weekend, and competitions also are happening on the weekends just because the schools don't necessarily like it if you miss that many school days due to sport."

Aside from being on the Morehead State Women's Golf team, Alina is planning on getting a Master's Degree and PhD in chemistry.

Due to Germany offering free tuition for both her masters and doctorate degrees, she will most likely move back home after completing her undergraduate degree in Morehead State.

However, she does love Morehead

"What I love most about Morehead are the people. Everybody is really nice, and if they ask you how your day is going, they actually expect an honest answer. I found the community to be very welcoming".

Some advice Alina would give to other international athletes coming to Morehead State in the future is to connect with people.

"If you are part of a team, your teammates are a really good place to start to make friends, but I also found that reaching out to other people on campus helps. I love my team, and I made some really good friends there, but I also made some good friends in class and engaging in other social activities on campus like the Chemistry Club."

Eagle fans can watch and follow Alina and the rest of her team next season via MSUEagles.com, as live scoring will be posted before each tournament.