Match Point

Student-Athlete Serves Up Success at SNHU

by Katie Dugan '20G

For many international students like Magdalena Hubickova, playing sports in college isn’t an option in their home country.

“It’s either go to work or play sports professionally,” said Hubickova of Prague, Czech Republic, “I love playing tennis and I wanted to study in college.”  

As young as 14, Hubickova knew she wanted to attend college in the United States and be a student athlete. When exploring options, Hubickova had never heard of SNHU, as she originally was interested in attending college nearly 1,500 miles away in Palm Beach, Florida. When that opportunity fell through, Hubickova heard SNHU was looking for tennis players.

“I almost signed right away. I didn’t even look at the website.”  

Hubickova had considered transferring to Palm Beach Atlantic after a year, but quickly learned that he had found a community at SNHU as soon as she stepped onto campus in 2019. 

“After less than a month, I knew that I wanted to stay. The community here at SNHU is amazing. I love being with people, I love making friends. I met the captain of the tennis team, and she is now one of my best friends.”  

Hubickova not only found an excellent group of friends, she also felt embraced by the SNHU athletics department.

“The tennis coach, Gregory Coache, is a great guy. I’ve never met a more genuine coach in my life. All the athletic directors really helped me to have the best on-campus experience I can ask for.”  

With the support from her teammates and her coaches, Hubickova quickly excelled in tennis, being honored with the coveted title of the 2021 Northeast-10 Conference Vern Cox Women’s Tennis Player of the Year when she was just a sophomore. This fall, she will lead the women’s tennis team as captain to wrap up her senior year at SNHU.  

Most students would be content with a busy practice schedule, but not Hubickova. In addition to tennis, Hubickova has taken on a handful of part-time roles and internships in the Athletics Department and in the Office of External Affairs where she puts her Communications major to work with graphic design, videography, photography and more.

“I really wanted the experience. I know my life as an athlete is slowly coming to an end and I’ll need to start a new chapter,” Hubickova said, “I was going to be a junior and needed to start looking into the working field.”  

She was apprehensive about taking on yet another responsibility, but her advisors and professors told her that she could do it.

“It is out of my comfort zone, having to work using the English language, but it’s been a great thing for me. I love a challenge. I am here for the learning experience,” Hubickova said, “I was so lucky to have all these professors who are motivating me to do internships, to work on myself. They always try to push me a little bit harder.”

While being an international student didn’t always come easy, Hubickova found support in her peers who were also from other countries.  

“It helps to see how diverse SNHU is and how many other international students are here. We are in it together and we know that we miss our food, we miss our culture. We can vent with each other about missing home and then after an hour, we love America again,” Hubickova laughs.  

Hubickova believes that the community she found on the SNHU campus has molded her into a better version of herself. Her gratitude for her life at SNHU makes those challenging moments worthwhile.  

“There are so many people that I met here that impacted my life. I’ve changed completely since freshman year. I became more responsible. I met so many people here that inspired me to be better. I am just beyond lucky. It’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Hubickova believes that the community she found on the SNHU campus has molded her into a better version of herself.

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