Boha Uses Soccer to Boost Study Abroad Experience

Luke Boha, a junior defender for the Indiana men’s soccer program, is spending part of his summer in Ghana as part of the IU Hutton Honors College’s study abroad program, “Culture and Health in Africa.”
 
Boha and his classmates are spending 18 days in Ghana while meeting with professionals in various fields to gain a better understanding of how health and culture intersect. The program “offers participants the opportunity to engage in thoughtful discussion in a small group setting with IU faculty, hear from expert researchers on program excursions, and see firsthand how Africans respond to health crises and the cultural underpinnings of the methods they use to solve their health problems.” The trip has also included a meeting with former Ghanaian president John Kufuor, whose public health policies defined his time in office.
 
“Incorporating an experience like this into my undergraduate studies was important because it allows me to be immersed in a culture foreign to me while I study topics that I have an interest in,” Boha said. “This provides me with a different perspective and allows me to think more globally about health concerns worldwide […] It was also important for me to participate in this program to further develop leadership and interpersonal communication skills with diverse peers.”  
 
Before his trip, Boha researched soccer’s impact on communities in Ghana and how the sport can be a conduit for children to receive an education, food and a future for themselves and their families. Because of this, he was inspired to tie his soccer background into the study abroad program.
 
“As a member of the Indiana men’s soccer team, I have been immersed in a culture of hard work, fellowship, and excellence,” Boha said. “[IU associate men’s soccer head coach Kevin Robson] nourished my love of soccer as a member of the Indiana Alliance travel soccer team and [head coach Todd Yeagley] and his staff have helped me develop as a soccer player, a student and personally […] I wanted to learn more about how my soccer experience at Indiana University compared with the soccer experience of Ghanaian students my age.”
 
So, working with Dr. Nana Amoah-Ramey, an IU professor involved with the program, Boha arranged a visit with a school in the capital city of Accra to meet and play soccer with other young adults. In…