Mosman Gets Lifetime Experience Studying in London

AMES, Iowa ? For three weeks this summer, senior women's basketball player Shellie Mosman got an education like none other. The Carroll, Iowa, native graduated in three years with a degree in accounting from Iowa State with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in May. And after studying abroad in London, England, in June, she has gained a global perspective she wouldn't trade for anything.

Mosman originally signed up for the trip because it was the only way to knock out four classes in her graduate program this summer. Her schedule set up so that she needed to complete four classes to stay on track to finish her master's of accounting degree in one year. She took a summer class at Iowa State before she left for London and she is enrolled in another since she has returned.

“I was a little nervous talking to coach Fennelly because I didn't know how he would handle it, but he has always been a coach that puts school first and basketball second,” Mosman said. “It's great to have a coach like that. He understands when opportunities come up for student-athletes to learn more about life than basketball. He thought that studying abroad would be a good chance for me. It's great that he is like that and our coaching staff was supportive during the whole trip.”

The program included nearly 30 students from Iowa State and Oklahoma State and was led by OSU professors. The schedule was intense and kept students busy the full three weeks, and it was set up for the students to truly experience a different culture.

“I was in class from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. everyday and that included both of my classes,” she said. “Part of the workload for one of my classes was to write two papers each week about the sights that you saw. On top of that, for my other class, there were a lot of field trips and it was more of a global business environment. Most of my days included class until 12:30 p.m., sightseeing until 4 p.m., and then I would come back and get a workout in, then eat dinner and study at night. My days were packed almost everyday. In London you walk everywhere, so by the end of the day, we were just exhausted.”

Mosman made her best attempt to prepare for her final Cyclone season while she was in London, despite the fact that her surroundings were not ideal for achieving those goals.

“The actual basketball was very tough because they have outdoor grass basketball courts,” Mosman said. “Basketball is not one of their main sports over there. Their courts were all grass and their hoops aren't good. They did have a great weight facility which was good. There were a lot of beautiful parks, so we would walk in the park or I would do sit-ups in the park. As far as cardio and lifting, I got that taken care of while I was there. I didn't feel behind when I got back.”

Mosman got to see a number of tourist attractions, including Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, Big Ben and her favorite, Wimbledon, while she was there. Despite waiting in line for more than three hours to see tennis players she had never heard of, Mosman said the All England Club might have been her favorite. She saw Dirty Dancing and The Lion King in the theater and even made a weekend trip to Barcelona, Spain.

“One weekend we went to Spain and the beaches are amazing,” Mosman said. “The worst part was on the way home we went to the wrong airport to fly out and we didn't find out until an hour before our plane left. The airport we were supposed to be at was 65 miles away, so we ended up paying this taxi to drive 50 miles over the speed limit. We had 10 minutes to get through security and get to our gate, which was 59 of 59. We got on the plane as the doors were closing. It was probably the craziest experience I've ever been through traveling.”

The lessons she learned during her three-week stay in London are better than anything she could have learned by reading a book or sitting in a classroom, she said. The memories and experiences are something she will never forget.