By: Emily Meyers
Angelina Horn is an exchange student-athlete at Central Michigan University from Ludewigsfelde, Germany. She came to the United States on a scholarship to run track.
“I mainly chose to come here to run because the support system for athletes here is way better; especially to those who are students as well,” Horn said about why she ultimately decided to travel abroad to run.
She began running in fifth grade after her PE teacher told her it would be worth a shot because she was fast and would be good. She didn’t have any other extracurriculars at the time, so she tried it and fell in love with the sport.
Now, attending a college 4,127 miles away from home, she competes in triple jump and, occasionally, the 4x1.
“When I came to the US, I think I was more scared of the culture shock, but it wasn’t as big of a difference as I expected,” Horn said. “Everyone was really welcoming. I would say I adapted pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s hard because you’re leaving your whole support system at home behind, but it was really easy to make friends here because I had the whole track team behind me.”
The most memorable difference for her is the open mindedness Americans have compared to people in her country.
“Americans are a little more open to getting to know people they don’t already know,” Horn said. “In Germany, it takes a little longer to get to know somebody, but here people are more open minded. At least in the beginning.”