Ten Virginia Tech student-athletes are spending a portion of this summer in the Dominican Republic as part of a university-designed study abroad course about leadership and putting leadership initiatives into practice. The group will be visiting poorer parts of the country to work with underprivileged children and help kids within different communities. These student-athletes will be coordinating sports camps to expose kids there to different sports.

The group includes football players Zack McCray and Derrick Hopkins, volleyball players Liz Trinchere and Cara Baarendse, women’s tennis player Carol Kahoun, women's track and field runner Madalyn Nuckols, women's swimmer Meaghan Holloway, women's soccer player Katie DeTuro, men's soccer player Nick Smirniotopolous and wrestling All-American Devin Carter.

Jon Jaudon, Tech’s associate AD for administration; Danny White, director of student-athlete affairs; and Katie Cross, an associate director in the student-athlete academic support services office, are traveling with the group and coordinating activities with the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation, Deportes Para La Vida and the Peace Corps.

Members of the group will be submitting blog entries each day to detail their experiences in the Dominican Republic. White wrote the first one on June 14, the day before the group left. They arrived Friday, June, 15, and Trinchere and Kahoun have submitted blog entries over the weekend.