The Saint Mary's College Sport Information team is introducing a special column on the SMC Gaels website. Karrie's Korner will feature exclusive interviews with student athletes and coaches so that fans can take a look at what the Gaels are up to both on and off the court.
This week's story will cover Saint Mary's Men's Basketball forward, Ian O'Leary, who spent the early part of the summer traveling to Senegal and Mali through a program called Athletes in Action. Athletes in Action is a Christian-based organization that seeks to use sports as an avenue of ministry in the United States and throughout the world. In the following interview, Ian talks about his life-changing trip and how he benefited just as much, if not more, than those he served through his experience with Athletes in Action:
Karrie: Where did you travel in the Athletes in Action program?
Ian: My trip was to Senegal and Mali, two different countries in the northwest of Africa. But it started in Ohio for a couple of days for a training camp to get to know everybody and have an idea of where we were going. Then we got to Africa after about 26 hours of traveling. We were in Senegal for four or five days and then in Mali for ten or eleven.
Karrie: For what purpose did you go?
Ian: It was for a few reasons. One, I had never been out-of-the-country, so to see another place in the world was fun. Two, to have the opportunity to go with a bunch of different Division I basketball players from all around the country who all kind of had similar goals in life, similar backgrounds, similar personalities. We all wanted to go to see the world, to play basketball, and to help people. It was a humanitarian trip. Athletes in Action is a Christian organization. I was pumped to be out-of-the-country; it kinda rocks your world a little bit to what life is like in other places. Also to be able to talk to other people, go to orphanages, help kids out, do clinics, and to share the universal language of basketball while loving little kids was a life-changing experience.
Karrie: How did you find out about AIA?
Ian: The head guy knows Coach Bennett. Also, my dad randomly met a guy who does real-estate in Atlanta and had mentioned it since he played at the University of Miami and had worked with Athletes in Action. When I heard about it, I thought it would be a good experience.
Karrie: How does Athletes in Action finance trips like this?
Ian: Everybody on the trip had to raise their own support—around $4,000. We wrote letters explaining what we were doing and asking people to give what they can—even if it was just a dollar. I was very blessed and fortunate that I have some really good family members and friends who support me, and who have always been really generous. It was a blessing and was taken care of real easily.
Karrie: What was the most rewarding part of your experience?
Ian: For me, one of the highlights was going to the orphanages. There were these big rooms just filled with kids that were understaffed. Kids were just sitting around with not a lot of entertainment. A lot of little babies were just sitting in cribs half-dressed and that really touched me. It was heartbreaking, but at the same time, it was really a blessing. We got to go into a room of kids that looked broken, and did not have a lot of hope and just start loving them, playing games, throwing them in the air, whatever, and they would just really put their guard down—be all smiles and laughter. But it stinks when you have to leave, so I voluntarily went back a couple times with a couple of other people in the group because it was so heartbreaking. It brought tears to my eyes but it was really awesome.
Karrie: What kinds of things did you do at the orphanages?
Ian: We brought them aid things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, and deodorant. The kids ranged from newborns all the way up to about middle school-aged kids, but mostly newborns and little kids. We also brought them stuff like beanie babies. Then we would just play with them...We had some translators, but mostly we were just on our own with the kids.
Karrie: How do you think the trip affected the way you see yourself as an American relative to the people you met in Africa?
Ian: It's ridiculous how easy our lives really are here. The things that I see a lot people take for granted on a daily basis. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna come home and burn all my nice possessions or anything like that. But you value little things that are no big deal to you, to someone else it could be the most amazing thing ever. I think it affects how you appreciate everything you get and how you interact with other people—fellow Americans or anybody. Over there, anything we did, people imitated. There was always somebody watching. I think it's a good thing to bring back here. On the court or off the court, you never know who is watching you, whether it be a little kid, your mom, your grandma, whoever. And how you uphold yourself and in what manner is important every day.
Karrie: How did your experience with Athletes in Action reflect the Lasallian tradition of Saint Mary's College to serve others?
Ian: It was huge. That was the whole goal. The way into the country was through being in this basketball tournament. That was good. We competed and we won, but that wasn't the main goal of the trip. That was what we had to do to get there. You can't just come in there like some kind of crazy missionary trying to convert a Muslim country... Once you were there, basketball broke down all the barriers. Whether you were black, white; American, African; Muslim, Christian, it doesn't matter. When it comes down to it, we're all just people. Obviously the conditions were way different than we're used to—the weather—everything was rough when you think back to the trip. But you didn't notice it when you were there. You don't think about all that stuff. You were there to help people, to serve people, and that felt good. And even though we gave to them, I got way more than I ever could have given.
Karrie: Did anything shock or surprise you about the culture or environment of the places you visited?
Ian: I figured it would be poor, but when we saw some of the ghettos and just the trash everywhere, it was shocking. When you look into people's houses, you think "Man, how do they get by from day-to-day?" How do they live on so little?" They don't just eat whenever they want. They eat when they have to. It is just so different with the everyday priorities. And it was hot (and this is coming from an Arizona native!). It was 110 everyday. No matter what, it was humid. There were bugs everywhere and mosquitoes. It is hard to explain when your not there because you aren't smelling or hearing it. But you didn't think about it while you're there because you don't go in there to judge and compare, "In America... there is this and that." It wasn't about that.
Karrie: What will you remember most about your experience?
Ian: I think just how I will appreciate the little things that we have every day, appreciating being American and living in a free country, appreciating the opportunities that I have. Just how I look at life differently and how I interact with other people is so crucial because life is all about people and relationships. It's the little things that go a long way and how you hold yourself in the right manner and in a respectful way and to treat people and everybody the same.
Through his travels abroad with Athletes in Action, work in orphanages, and competition with fellow NCAA athletes, Ian was given the opportunities to touch the lives of many. What he did not realize before his experience was that the life that was perhaps most changed through his work was his own. During his travels, Ian saw first-hand how love and basketball are a universal language—one that translates beyond cultural, economic and religious differences. Ian would like to encourage others to participate in Athletes in Action and to spread the mission of the organization that there is "one world to reach, one language of sport, and one message of victory."
For more information about Athletes in Action, check out their website at http://www.aia.com.
