May 10, 2017
Over the next few weeks, Vanderbilt soccer will be following rising junior Gabrielle Rademaker. The Tampa, Fla. natives will be journaling her experiences this summer as she explores New Zealand. Volume 1(5/3)
How was the plane flight?
The flight was very long. It took a total of 37 hours with delays and everything. The time change is pretty crazy as we are a half a day a head, which keeps throwing me off.
How are accommodations and the winter weather?
The accommodations are great right now. We are staying in a nice hotel while we are participating in leadership workshops. The food is all very ethnic  everything is curry and lamb so I’m stepping out of my comfort Nashville food and trying new things.
Tomorrow we are leaving for Vanuatu, a small island off of New Zealand. That is where we will be staying with the tribes, all 35 of us in one huge hut-like room for a week. I met up with a few other people going on this trip in LA, and from there we made it to New Zealand together. It is also winter right now in New Zealand so it is super cold (about seven degrees right now) and yet I am wearing shorts. It also has been raining a lot so the Vandy rain jacket is really coming in handy!
Who are your closest friends so far?
My roommate Jess is amazing. She is a relationship coach and 33 years old. Another person who I’ve gotten close with on the trip is this guy named Chad Cooper. He is a coach for high-performance athletes and CEOs. He has coached an eight-time world champion boxer, two Olympic gold medalists, and coached with Tony Robbins. He’s been giving me a lot of advice and I have already learned a lot from him that really resonated with our team.
What’s been your favorite moment so far?
The most amazing part of the trip happened last night when we were raising money for the Sophie Elliott Foundation. Sophie Elliott was a 22-year old woman who was killed by her abusive boyfriend. Her mom started a foundation to bring awareness to abuse and help young girls get out of those relationships before it’s too late.
Last night during the event’s auction they auctioned off an All Blacks (New Zealand national rugby team) jersey signed by Ben Smith. However, they were still short in funding for the foundation, so then I talked to the women in charge and we came up with an idea to raise more money. They made an announcement and said if they raised another 300 dollars I would have to model the outfit. We ended up raising 500, which helped the Sophie Elliott Foundation.
Afterwards I got to speak to Sophie’s mom, Leslie, and Bill, one of the founders. It was a great feeling to make an impact and help with their cause. It was also fun to wear the All Blacks jersey. All of the money made from the tickets for our talks and workshops went to the Sophie Elliott Foundation, as well.
