POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist Swimming and Diving Head Coach Larry VanWagner surveys the scene from the pool deck. His student-athletes navigate through the McCann Natatorium pool during speed drills as Assistant Coach Jim Billesimo shouts instructions from just behind the launch pads. 
 
VanWagner has observed this landscape for almost a half-century. In his 43rd season, he is in charge of 46 student-athletes for the 2019-20 season. Throughout his Marist tenure, he has led over 1,000 Red Foxes through the winding waters of their collegiate careers. With each new class, he's witnessed them develop into talented swimmers and divers, while also preparing them for life after Marist. Each graduate has had his or her own unique path through the program and after college.
 
Meredith Wurtz may have one of the most unique journeys of any Marist Swimming and Diving graduate.
 
The Class of 2017 and 2018M graduate currently teaches at the Sunny Canadian International School in Prague, Czech Republic. This summer, VanWagner and Associate Head Coach Melanie Bolstad had the chance to see Wurtz at Prague Castle.
 
"It was great to see how she was doing in Prague," said VanWagner. "You could really see and hear just how much she's been enjoying her experience."
 
Wurtz was a decorated freestyle swimmer during her athletic career, winning 15 MAAC Championship gold medals and garnering MAAC Most Outstanding Swimmer recognition in 2016 and 2017.
 
Though she found success in the pool, her career aspirations were in the classroom. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Psychology/Special Education in 2017, and was looking for a way to gain invaluable experience as a teacher.  
 
"During my senior year at Marist, I decided that I wanted to teach abroad in order to gain a larger cultural understanding," explained Wurtz through a social media message. "I thought that by broadening my spectrum of cultures around the world, perhaps, I would be a better teacher."
 
As she completed her Masters in Educational Psychology, Wurtz took an outside course to earn her certification to "Teach English as a Foreign Language" (TEFL). In the program, she selected the Czech Republic, due to its central location in Europe.
 
In her first year at Sunny Canadian, she taught two classes of 15-20 first graders. These groups had Wurtz as their English teacher and a Czech teacher. The students are taught all subjects, including Math, Science, Social Studies, etc.) in both languages. In the 2019-20 school year, she has moved up with her students from last year into second grade.
 
While it seemed daunting to begin her professional career in a foreign country, Wurtz relied on her experience in her education classes to ease the process.
 
"The experience has been all I dreamed it could be! I have been fortunate to travel, meet and work with teachers from around the world and the US. The education and student/intern teaching I received while I was at Marist has proven to be invaluable. I am grateful for the mentoring that I received while at Marist, and hope to continue to share my knowledge and love of learning with my students and fellow teachers!"
 
From watching Wurtz grow from her first practices as a freshman in 2013 to when she was an assistant coach on the team, it was no surprise to VanWagner to see her excel in her role.
 
"Her success in the pool made it easier to prepare her for teaching," proclaimed the head coach. "She was and still is responsible for her own self-motivation and self-reliance. Her experience made it easier to adapt to a foreign classroom."

While Wurtz credited her classroom experiences for giving her the tools to succeed at Sunny Canadian, her time as a Marist student-athlete harnessed that discipline. Coach VanWagner understands the key mental relationship swimming has, and utilizes that dynamic with his student-athletes.

"The relationship between mind and body is crucial," explained VanWagner. "(Coach Bolstad) and I understand, having teaching degrees, how much education builds your mind. With our program, we expand that mental training to the body so that they grow together, which is critical."

As Wurtz gains invaluable experiences in her career over 4,000 miles away from Poughkeepsie, she and Coach VanWagner still communicate from time to time. VanWagner and Bolstad enjoyed seeing Wurtz succeeding after Marist, and are now back in McCann for the start of the season, preparing the next generation of Marist student-athletes for the next phases of their lives.

The Red Foxes end their preseason this weekend with the Red & White Challenge on Saturday, October 12. Both teams will compete in an intra-squad exhibition, in what will be their last fine-tuning before the start of the regular season next weekend. Marist opens the regular season on Friday, October 18 against MAAC foe Canisus. The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.