The "Macalester Scotlight" is a special feature series that runs throughout each sports season and highlights individuals within the Macalester College Athletics Department who have a unique story to share.

"Scotlight" video on Jesse Geary
NCAA Study Abroad Story featuring Geary

At a surface level, it is hard to see how spending several months living  in the Khangai Mountains of Mongolia with yak herders can make someone a better soccer player. But for Macalester senior Jesse Geary, his unconventional study abroad experience last Spring helped him gain confidence as an athlete and taught him invaluable lessons that just can't be learned in a classroom.

“I have gained confidence in everything I do, including soccer, and especially in communicating with other people,” said Geary of his experience in Mongolia.

“When you spend time in a setting where you don't share a common language, everything is more difficult and communication is a struggle. Being in that situation makes you aware of the things you can gain from people when they are speaking English and how much you can learn just by asking questions.”

Learning to overcome a language barrier wasn't the only challenge Geary, who is originally from Duluth, Minn., faced while living in Mongolia. He was forced to adapt to living conditions that were a huge departure from the typical American lifestyle and typical academic study abroad program. Though being forced outside of one's 'comfort zone' while living in another country may seem daunting, it was just what Geary was looking for in his study abroad program.

“I knew that if I was going to go abroad, I wanted it to be in a country where I couldn't easily travel to on my own,” Geary said. “I wanted to challenge myself in a new environment.”

Geary chose a program that allowed him to experience Mongolian culture in different ways through home stays in the capital city of Ulaanbataar and in the rural countryside. Geary also was able to complete an independent research project  about Mongolian agricultural practices through his program.

“I was really interested in how agriculture exists and people survive in different parts of the world,” Geary said. “Mongolia has a unique situation and there aren't many places in the world that practice the type of herding that they do there. It's very different from how we raise cattle and grow crops here in the U.S.”

Before Geary was able to wander the Gobi Desert with yak herders, though, he spent over a month living in Ulaanbaatar in a small apartment with his host parents, four younger host-brothers and one younger host-sister.

While in the city setting, he took language classes and learned about the current economic, social and political situations in Mongolia and immersed himself in Mongolian culture. Geary spent time talking to different social and political figures including members of the World Bank and the Parliament of Mongolia.

Following his stay in Ulaanbaatar, Geary spent the other half of his time abroad living in rural areas of Mongolia with nomadic yak and cattle herders. As part of his daily routine, Geary herded animals, sheared goats for cashmere, collected snow for water and helped prepare and cook food. Geary also spent time interviewing and documenting how the yak herders live for his research.

“My goal was to learn about those people and how they live their lives,” Geary said.

“I really wanted to learn how they herd the animals, what they use them for, how they use them for transportation, how they select the animals and also observe the process for selecting and raising the animals.”

Through his research, Geary learned how the Mongolia herders use the entire animal and incorporate it in to all aspects of their lives. For example, the yak hide is used for leather, the milk is used for a variety of different dairy products and the meat makes up an important part of the herders' diets.

For Geary, though, one of the greatest lessons he learned from his host families was how to live more simply and efficiently.

“I learned a lot just observing the way that herders live their everyday lives,” Geary said. “They reuse many things and most of their tools, they either make themselves or repair themselves. It's an important concept that I brought back to my life here. You realize that you can always simplify things and remove the superfluous things in our lives.”

In addition to the life lessons he took away from his study abroad experience, Geary said, like most individuals who study abroad, he was definitely changed by the experience.

“People are constantly changing, whether it is at Macalester or in a foreign country,” Geary said.

“I definitely changed more in that one semester than if I had been at Macalester and had experiences there that I wouldn't have been able to have here. When you get back from an experience like that, you constantly look at yourself to see how you have changed and I think that's an important process to go through.”

One of the biggest changes Geary came away with from his experience in Mongolia was a heightened sense of self-confidence which has impacted many aspects of his life, but has most noticeably on the soccer field. This year, as a senior, Geary netted his first collegiate goal and feels he has become more of a leader on the team.

“I am more confident in myself which is a big part of sports,” said Geary. “Trusting yourself is key to excelling at athletics. I have found myself being in a little more of a leadership role and trying to be more of a leader on the field.”

Being able to excel on the playing field, while also balancing academic commitments and finding time to study abroad is a concept that sounds impossible. But for Geary, and so many other Macalester and Division III student-athletes, finding time to pursue interests outside of the classroom and the realm of athletics is a crucial part of having a well-rounded college experience.

“I think that you really miss out on an opportunity to stretch yourself academically, emotionally and physically if you don't go abroad,” Geary said.

“You can always get those experiences in other ways, but for me, this is a way that worked out. Having those experiences are important for a liberal arts education in order to make yourself well-rounded and to be able to excel in a variety of fields. Going abroad challenges you in a way that is different than just academically, which is an important part of a college education.”