By: Jen Roux - Women's Tennis
My mom loves telling the story of when I was five years old, a small blonde and soft-spoken child, and went up to her and said, "Mom, I want to go see the Statue of Liberty." Slightly taken aback at how I knew what that was she replied, "Where did you see that my girl?" In my infinite and youthful wisdom I apparently responded with innocent conviction, "Cartoon Network!"
I grew up on a hunting and river rafting farm in the Kalahari Desert, an area in the middle of South Africa known for its dry but serene terrain. My childhood consisted of rafting trips, hunting expeditions and encountering people from all walks of life. Our campsite was built right next to the Orange River, named by Dutch settlers after The Prince of Orange, and for the orange tinged colour the water gave when the light shone off of it. Come sunset we would all join together on the riverbank as the skyline became illuminated with an array of reds and watched how the reeds that lined the water's edge would change colours. A common cliental for us were Americans who came in search of an authentic South African outdoors experience. I vividly remember how I use to climb the tree that hung near the camp fire and sit for hours listening to those foreigners with strange accents tell stories of their distant and different homes. I'd like to think that my exposure to them at that young age instilled the curiosity I had to pursue a life in America.
I was six years old when I played tennis for the first time. I was the height of the net cord and paired with a racquet that definitely overshadowed me. I recall uncoordinatedly running around trying to figure out how the older kids managed to make it look so easy. At the time I only played because my best friend did, but when she stopped I had already developed a love affair with the game. Between four other sports tennis was my third best and by far the most frustrating of them all. I had made the State Team for field hockey and squash two years in a row. At the age of 14 I made the varsity team for hockey and found myself competing against girls that were four years older than me. It was around that time that I craved a sport that didn't require someone else picking me to be on the team or determining that I was good enough. Tennis was a sport where I either won or lost, I was either better than the other person or I wasn't. It not only went beyond bias and underlying sport politics, but it also presented an opportunity for me to compete and study abroad in America.
When I was 13 years old I was privileged enough to go to an all-girls boarding school on the east coast of South Africa. Originally my sister went there because it was renowned for its drama and theatre department, so naturally I followed her. A year later, during a short holiday when my parents were visiting, I sat them down and nervously told them how I want to someday study and play tennis in America. At the time I had no exact plan as to how I was going to do it, but I knew it was going to involve some tough choices and changes. A year and a half later, after many tearful goodbyes to some friends that I'm still close with today, I moved to a boarding school in the south of the country so I could train at a tennis academy. I went from only playing three times a week for an hour at a time to playing four hours a day five days a week. Needless to say my very new and aching callouses reinforced just how overwhelmed I felt at the task ahead. But the more I played and the better I got the greater my passion grew.
Besides the coaches and fellow tennis players I had surrounding me to create a productive and positive environment, I had my family. Without the abundant and endless support they've given me through this journey I can honestly say I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today. My parents have always encouraged my sister and I to be independent thinkers and push ourselves in everything we do. They moved to what is now my current hometown, Stellenbosch, just before I started my second to last year of high school. Having them there allowed me to move back home and do distance learning, or homeschooling, for my last two years of school. This was when Sunel Malan started coaching me. Sunel is a Vandal alumnus who played for the University of Idaho for four years and assistant coached for two years while she finished her Master's degree in Dietetics. While Sunel competed for the Vandals she played against Lewis-Clark State College back when Pei-Yuin Keng ruled the court and
Kai Fong the tennis program. Her connection to Kai and the Valley is how I found myself playing for the Warriors.
In August 2015 I said goodbye to my family and prepared myself to leave the continent for the very first time. After an 11-hour flight from Cape Town to Dubai, a 14-hour flight from Dubai to Seattle and a very weary two-hour flight I found myself flying into a brightly lit Lewiston at 11 at night. Two teammates picked me up from the airport and showed me to the campus dorms, or what I would call my new home. Despite how long I'd been traveling and how displaced I felt, I managed to enthusiastically wake my very jetlagged new Spanish team and roommate, Anna Rodriguez. Unbeknownst to either of us we would be roommates for two years and form a deep friendship that fulfilled the absence of our families. We had 13 different nationalities between 20 people on the team that year. Between adjusting to the American way and different cultures from my teammates, I found myself learning to juggle the demands of the tennis program, academics and my work life. I'll never forget how willing people were to offer their help if I got stuck or if I needed something as simple as a ride to Winco. The curiosity and care I've received from people in the Valley over the years has truly shown me how powerful a strong community can be.
Four years later I'm a semester away from graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Communications with a minor in Global Perspectives. During my time on the Women's Tennis Team, we've ranked as high as 10
th in the country, made it to conference semi-finals twice and fought our way to the second round of the National Championship Tournament. Tennis has been the driving force for so many opportunities and life lessons that I've experienced. Thanks to this sport I've had the privilege of being exposed to people and challenges that I would have never otherwise had, and ultimately would have never become the person that I am today. I could never fully express the immense gratitude I feel towards all my friends, coaches, professors, teammates and family for their immeasurable encouragement throughout the years. Though my time in Lewiston is coming to an end, I know that it will always be a part of my life that I cherish dearly. Just as with each sunset I see my mind is brought back to the memories of my childhood overlooking the Orange River, there too will be countless things that remind me of the invaluable time I've spent at Lewis-Clark State College. A saying that's stuck with me since growing up is, "To know where you're going, you must remember where you come from." Like South Africa, I'm proud to now consider the Valley a place I come from. However, my time in America has not ended, I am yet to see the Statue of Liberty!
