The charism of service - the aid of others in need - has long been a value of Aquinas College. While it manifest in many ways in the local sector, some members of the Aquinas community have stepped into the international sphere, taking the values of the institution into the far reaches of the globe. Assistant AQ Women’s Lacrosse Coach Katy Mohr embodies that aim.

Over the summer, Mohr visited Uganda with help from donations via Aquinas College, and under the auspices of Fields of Growth International, a charitable organization that seeks to work with the less fortunate of East Africa and Uganda, often giving the people of these regions an opportunity to learn lacrosse. Considering the vital lessons that can be taught by community sports - team-building, cooperation and determination, for instance - bringing the sport to Uganda and East Africa often means highlighting the values shared between such different parts of the world. Mohr was specifically involved in engaging the women of this region with athletics.

“By targeting the women at the university, they’re going to be the movers and shakers within the communities,” Mohr said. “They’ve already made it to the university, and that says a lot. Most of the people who start in the villages stay in the villages. To get the women involved in sports, we can use all the... lessons they can learn from sports, with team building and leadership and working together... they really just come together as one.”

“All the women who came were extremely enthusiastic about playing. They were so excited. They just kept coming and coming to each practice. A lot of it had to do with - they each got their own stick. People don’t get many things given to them. To have ownership of their own stick meant they could actually take responsibility for something, and they were actually playing a part of the team.”

As if to highlight this enthusiasm, Mohr remembers one athlete actually playing in high heels. “I saw women play in flats, high heels, barefoot,” she said. “We asked her, ‘You can take off your high heels and play barefoot,’ and she said, ‘Oh no, Coach, I can move in these.’ Sure enough, she took off down the field and was sprinting in high heels, playing lacrosse.”

Mohr helped to establish the women’s lacrosse program. Starting with nine athletes, the program grew exponentially, so that by the conclusion of a five-week tenure, Mohr saw a total of fifty women participate. This culminated in the first men and women’s lacrosse championship in the entire continent of Africa. Mohr is now the director of women’s programs for the organization.

Fields of Growth International also sponsors a village school near Masaka, Uganda - the Hopeful School - where Mohr spent time getting to know many of the students and assisting when a need arose. She is now involved in establishing a sponsorship program for the Hopeful School. When asked about the challenges of being brought into a vastly different culture, Mohr refers to differences in how time is experienced between Western cultures and other regions, with challenges like making deadlines arising: “They’re not in a hurry, in terms of deadlines and getting things done the way we think of as Americans.”

Chuckling, Mohr recounts how she adapted well to the adjusted lifestyle: “I think the most difficult part about coming back, honestly, is just being on time. But in terms of culture shock going over there, I stayed in the city half the time, where I had running water the majority of the time - the first couple weeks it was shut off here and there. It was all cold water. If I wanted a hot shower then I had to heat up water and have a hot bucket bath. When I was out in the village, that was all I had were bucket baths.” Furthermore, Mohr feels she adapted well to the food, despite the vast differences, both in terms of culture and availability of certain foods.

Mohr intends to return to Uganda to do more work with the team, which aspires to the Lacrosse World Cup in the next few years. She also hopes to see further aid to the village. As she recalls members of the village publicly wearing Aquinas shirts that she distributed - new things are so rare for many of them, she points out - she has a vision for further interaction with this people with whom she has established a connection.