Halfway across the globe, Joely Rupert (10) found a community she never expected to find that far away from home. This summer, Rupert left an international hockey camp in Stockholm, Sweden, with a host of new friends. 

“I met a lot of really cool people,” Rupert said. “It was a really immersive experience to learn different phrases from different languages and other people’s cultures.”

Rupert went to Sweden, Denmark, Canada, and Norway this summer, but the experience she had visiting Stockholm, meeting and playing with a multitude of international hockey players, was unparalleled by the rest. 

“It was a big group of people from all different places,” Rupert said. “It was just fun to be a part of.”

Rupert has been playing hockey for half of her life and gets to travel across the globe with her competitive team. However, the community that hockey brings her gives her more fulfillment than anything.

“The sport has a lot of awesome girls,” Rupert said. “It brings me lots of enjoyment.”