{"id":86106,"date":"2024-04-25T04:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=86106"},"modified":"2024-04-26T09:48:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T13:48:33","slug":"new-zealander-traveled-8400-miles-to-fulfill-dream-as-utoledo-student-athlete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/04_25_2024\/new-zealander-traveled-8400-miles-to-fulfill-dream-as-utoledo-student-athlete","title":{"rendered":"New Zealander Traveled 8,400 Miles to Fulfill Dream as UToledo Student-Athlete \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

At age 18, Krystal Clark said goodbye to her family and everything she knew, took a seat on a plane and made a leap of faith.<\/p>\n

Approximately 8,400 miles, to be precise.<\/p>\n

\"Graduation

CELEBRATING SUCCESS: UToledo recognizes the Class of 2024 with a series of stories featuring students receiving their degrees at spring commencement<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Clark, who had just graduated high school, left her home in Auckland, New Zealand, to join the UToledo Track and Field team as a freshman Rocket.<\/p>\n

She had never been to the United States, let alone visited The University of Toledo campus. She had only exchanged phone calls with Andrea Grove-McDonough, head coach of Toledo\u2019s track and field team, who had recruited Clark at the suggestion of a friend, Paul Hamblyn, who was Clark\u2019s high school coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul sent me a Facebook message about a young athlete he coached who he believed had a lot of potential, but more importantly was just a really great kid,\u201d Grove-McDonough said. \u201cWe started from there and it’s fair to say we took a chance on each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn paper, her marks were not where we would normally offer a full scholarship, but I trusted him and I also had an instinct about her based on our conversations. I always say it was a leap of faith; from her and her family, and from us that she could be the athlete and teammate Paul believed her to be \u2014 and she has been all that and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than four years later, Clark is graduating with a 4.0 GPA and a bachelor\u2019s degree in media communication on Saturday, May 4, and her family in New Zealand will be in person to watch as she completes a nearly decade-old dream: securing a scholarship to compete at a Division I university.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my sole focus during high school and my parents sacrificed a lot for me so I could achieve my dream,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThey both \u2014 especially my mom \u2014 were just nervous because of the time I was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their daughter was arriving on campus in fall 2020, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, a time that, Clark said, no flights were going into New Zealand. She was leaving her family with no knowledge of when she would be able to come home.<\/p>\n

\"Krystal

Krystal Clark, right, with Andrea Grove-McDonough, head coach of Toledo\u2019s track and field team.<\/p><\/div>\n

Clark said she wasn\u2019t worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my parents, grandparents and every person over the age of 25 who I spoke to suggested I defer for a semester,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cRight up until the day I left, people were trying to talk me out of it, but I knew it was something I had to do then, and I didn’t want to push it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark\u2019s perseverance was rewarded.<\/p>\n

She would\u00a0go on to\u00a0claim the third-fastest time in the 800m (2:08.91) Toledo history in 2022. She also took her classes seriously and joined the Office of University Marketing and Communications as a student writer, where she wrote stories about other successful students at UToledo, many of whom had also overcome their own obstacles.<\/p>\n

Her junior year she learned the behind-the-scenes of broadcast journalism through UToledo\u2019s award-winning UT10 News, which remains her favorite class.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was something so reaffirming about seeing my work on the big screen and it was such a great learning experience for me,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

She also landed a summer internship with Toledo affiliate WTVG (13 ABC).<\/p>\n

An injury last fall during a workout the week before Toledo\u2019s first cross-country meet ended her season before it started. But an internship with Voice in Sport, a media company that encourages and empowers girls to stay in sports and compete to the highest level, allowed her to voice her frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was writing articles for them and had the opportunity to be a resource that I wish that I had when I was younger. It was a fantastic outlet for all of my anger and frustration, and it gave me a sense of purpose at a time when instead of running with my best friends I was stuck swimming or biking by myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat experience, as much as I hated it, was probably the best thing that could\u2019ve happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Krystal

Clark and teammates Lianna Surtz, Cadence Christie and Laura Nicholson received honors for their victory in the 4000m distance medley at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.<\/p><\/div>\n

Earlier this year, Clark and teammates Lianna Surtz, Cadence Christie and Laura Nicholson received honors for their victory in the 4000m distance medley at the 2024 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.<\/p>\n

Clark also has been a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree including\u00a0in\u00a02024.<\/p>\n

Tisha Mays, an assistant lecturer in the Department of Communication, said she is proud of Clark and her growth into a journalist who has a passion for telling personal stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was talented from the start and eager to perfect her storytelling, connection to community and industry knowledge,\u201d Mays said.\u00a0\u201cIt has been a true pleasure to be part of\u00a0Krystal\u2019s educational experience and I am excited for her journey. She is encouraging and inspiring to other students she encounters. Her genuine and kind spirit reflects integrity, curiosity and dedication that will take her anywhere in the world to uncover stories that will inform, educate and inspire. She will be a force in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking past May 4, Clark said she will continue working with Voice in Sport, writing feature articles for their platform as she interviews for full-time opportunities.<\/p>\n

Her long-term goal is to return to New Zealand and use her journalism skills to elevate the voices and stories of M\u0101ori, the Indigenous group of New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy love for storytelling began with hearing elders share their history and beliefs,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI want to help broadcast the needs, concerns and rich culture of M\u0101ori to the rest of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she reflected on that quiet but exhilarating moment on the plane only a few years ago, with only 8,500 miles and a single goal in front of her, she remembered thinking, \u201cThis will either be the best decision of my life or the worst decision. Either way, I’m about to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd yet, Toledo, the United States and collegiate running were the best decisions I could have possibly made,” Clark said. “I’m glad I didn’t let my fear of discomfort hold me back from chasing my dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cToledo has become my home. It’s sad to be moving on,\u201d she added. \u201cI’ve always been proud to represent the midnight blue and gold, whether it be on the start line or in a newsroom.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Krystal<\/a>

Krystal Clark, who receives her bachelor\u2019s degree in media communication on May 4, received All-MAC co-honors at the 2024 MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships and is a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":878,"featured_media":86108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,60,56,69,356,1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/878"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86106"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86144,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86106\/revisions\/86144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}