Four Penn State student-athletes will join a group of students traveling to Greece as part of Harvard’s Sport and Education Program: from Ancient Olympia to the Present. The program, sponsored by the International Olympic Academy (IOA) and the Greek General Secretariat of Sport, will run from July 7-11 in Olympia.
The participating student-athletes are Hayden Cunningham from wrestling, Abby Baker from women’s lacrosse, and Madeleine Söderqvist and Gabriella Recce from track & field. They will be part of a diverse group of students and faculty from Penn State, Harvard, Texas, Dartmouth, and Greek universities.
The program aims to explore how sport influenced ancient models of knowledge and how these models have shaped modern universities and professional sports. Participants will engage in discussions about the connections between sport and education at the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
“I am thrilled and grateful to be able to share this opportunity with Penn State’s student-athletes,” said an unnamed source. “The chance to learn, think, and talk about the connections between sport and education at the site of the ancient Olympic Games—and to do it with top scholars and students from around the world—is extraordinary.”
Sessions will take place at state-of-the-art facilities in IOA, including visits to archaeological sites such as Ancient Olympia’s museum. These sessions aim to provide students with a vital connection to historical contexts.
This year’s faculty includes Charles Stocking, Academic Director of the Sport and Education Program; Heather Reid, Scholar in Residence at the Exedra Mediterranean Center; Georgios Mouratidis, Assistant Director of the British School at Athens. Guest speakers include George Mavrotas, Secretary General of Sports; Mark Schiefsky, Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies at Harvard; Erin West, Assistant AD for student-athlete development at Harvard.