April 18 - Cassie Smith (she comes from a large, ethnically-diverse family)
April 21 - Makenna Sullivan (she is a Leap-Year Baby)
April 28 - Kacy Eckley (she used to be one of the top youth golfers in the country)
June 8 - Monica Rios (she was born in Puerto Rico)
June 17 - Haley Kemper (she is into four different types of boardsports)
June 23 - Emmi Carroll (she has broken 12 bones in her lifetime)
July 11 - Allison Werner (she attended private Catholic school for grades K-12)
July 19 - Mikayla Brillon (she attended the prestigious NCAA Career in Sports Forum this summer)
August 1 - Anna Hall (she was a star forward in high school before becoming a goalkeeper)
September 1 - Jordan Foster (she has ziplined upside down in the jungles of Honduras)
September 22 - Sutton Edwards (she can solve a Rubik's Cube)
October 7- Idalys Rea (she once caught a shark in the Gulf of Mexico)
October 13 - Bailly Bounds (her car was once followed by a swarm of bees)
November 2 - Tara Claus (she is a big fan of rapper Machine Gun Kelly)
April 7 - Sam Eastes (she once spent a week hiking in the Rocky Mountains)

RICHMOND, Ky. – Over the spring and summer, we will be profiling members of the Eastern Kentucky soccer team. Next up: freshman Larissa Heslop.

Larissa, a defender from Greer, South Carolina, spent her winter break in England.

EKUSports: You studied abroad in London over Winter Break?
 
Larissa Heslop: Yes, for two weeks. I was doing 'The Politics of Soccer,' which was a class taught by Professor Gershtenson. It was really cool because there were a lot of graduate students and a couple kids from other schools like UK and Murray State. I was the youngest of the group, being a freshman. My parents were nervous about me going over to another country. It was a very cool class. We visited a lot of soccer stadiums. I got to watch some games. We would go to different places to see what the culture was like near the stadium, and then watch the games at restaurants around the stadium.
 
ES: How was the class itself?
 
LH: It related soccer to world politics. It was actually very interesting looking at how big of an influence soccer has on other countries, because it is such a big sport worldwide. Even in terms of the government and how it plays a role, or culturally with some teams known for being more racist than others. It was interesting to see how so much of society is seen through soccer.
 
ES: Was this through the study abroad program here at Eastern?
 
LH: It was through EKU Study Abroad. They were helpful the whole time. I was able to get good scholarship money to do it.
 
ES: Are you a political science major?

LH: I'm an anthropology major, but I am considering a political science minor, which is why it was so appealing to me.
 
ES: Had you ever been to England?
 
LH: No, this was the first time. I've been to Saudi Arabia before. I was visiting my dad while he was deployed.
 
ES: You're a military kid, right?
 
LH: Yes. But I've traveled mainly in the United States.
 
ES: What did you think of London?
 
LH: I really liked it. It is quite the diverse city. It is expensive. I just really loved how we would go out and you would hear so many other languages and meet so many other people, which was awesome. We had a day where we didn't have any plans, so two girls, who are grad students, and I went to Paris for a day. We took a bus that went on a boat that got to Paris. That was really cool. We saw a lot of the arts and all of the things Paris is known for.
 

ES: Did you go to Chelsea's Stadium?

LH: I did. I went to Chelsea Stadium, and it wasn't on the agenda, but there was a couple of us that decided while we were there, we might as well go. As I was at Chelsea and we were touring it, I saw Crystal Dunn. She plays on the U.S. National Team. I had actually met Crystal Dunn when I was little at a soccer camp when she was still at UNC. I recognized her because she was signing to the Chelsea women's team the day I just so happened to be touring. I talked to the security people and they were being really hesitant because it was a secret. I begged them, "will you please just let me meet her, I know who she is!" They were kind of joking around and said "of course there is an American on this tour." They let me get a picture with her which is really cool, and I got to talk to her for a bit.
 
ES: What was your favorite memory from the trip?
 
LH: It was definitely seeing Crystal Dunn. There were so many awesome things, but that was the icing on the cake
 
ES: Would you recommend studying abroad to other students?
 
LH: I would definitely recommend study abroad. They make the process easier than expected. There are a lot of opportunities.