Pictured (from left to right): James Fahmy, Blessing Kingsley, Paddy Burns
If you are at that moment in your life where you are figuring out what you’d like to do in the future,
why not consider studying abroad? There have been some great success stories in recent years
of young students from Ireland and the UK pursuing their education in other countries doing
something they love, meeting loads of new people, experiencing different cultures and gaining a
real independence that will serve them well in the future. Some of the Innumeris student-athlete
ambassadors, namely Blessing Kingsley, Paddy Burns and James Fahmy are cases in point.
Blessing is an Irish soccer player who starred for Wexford Youths in the UEFA Champions
League and is now a D1 student-athlete in Southern Mississippi University, Paddy is a former
captain of the U18 Northern-Ireland soccer team who is now studying at the University of
Notre-Dame in Indiana, and James, formerly of EFL Championship side QPR is now plying his
trade while studying at Harvard! These are driven people who are flourishing in both their
academics and their sport and it can’t be a coincidence that they have all moved abroad and
done well for themselves!
The idea of going abroad to pursue your education may sound daunting, but there have been
many young people who have said that taking that step has been the best decision of their lives.
Conor Behan of Tallaght, Dublin, who is currently based at the University of North Carolina,
Asheville, having made the move at the age of 19, is one of the many who have taken that step,
and told us here at Innumeris Education that living in a different country had always appealed to
him, and clearly has no regrets, stating that he recommends it to everyone he speaks to now.
“One of the big things that made me come over here (North Carolina) was that they treat sport
like a professional environment and there’s so much available to you that it will allow you to
improve (in sport) while going to college, which would have been difficult for me at home.”
He also stated that there’s a big emphasis on the academic side, not just the sport, and that getting
the grades for the school or college you want to get to is what coaches look for if you’re on their
radar for their teams.
Between traveling, pursuing an education in an area you are truly interested in and meeting a
range of new people you (more than likely) wouldn’t otherwise meet, what’s not to love?
Written by Aidan Kelly, Sports Communications Officer
