Wilbraham & Monson Academy's Julia Bell '12 was asked to play on a select national women's lacrosse team during her sophomore and junior seasons at Mount Holyoke College.
Julia, a collegiate field hockey and lacrosse player, declined because she felt she had a little too much on her plate.
When the offer came around again her senior year, though, she accepted. She's glad she did as Julia spent 10 days in June playing lacrosse and touring Europe as part of American International Sports Teams.
"It was awesome," Julia said. "I was able to play with girls from all three divisions. I was only one of two players representing Division III. It was awesome for me."
Julia and her teammates toured Paris before playing the Belgian national team in Brussels. They capped their memorable trip by playing in the Lowlands Lacrosse Tournament in Amsterdam.
"The touring was amazing, especially Paris," Julia said. "In Belgium, we had a lot of free time in Brussels. We toured Holland before going into Amsterdam. We had a lot of free time in Amsterdam, too.
"The trip was awesome. It was mostly post-college players so the players were friendly and it wasn't extremely competitive, but it was enough."
Julia took the always-important face-offs and played attack for the team, which beat Belgium and came in second at the tournament.
"I was in it for fun," she said. "I scored some. I was mostly used on the draw, which is what I enjoy. That was my thing: grabbing draws and setting up people. There was amazing talent and it was a joy to play with them. But I thought I played well and I'm glad I did it for my last hurrah to finish my lacrosse career."
Julia, a graduate student pursuing a career in psychology and sports management at Springfield College, will serve as an assistant coach for the WMA Field Hockey team this season.
"We're excited to have Julia join the team," Coach Bill Wells said. "Julia's a smart, motivated, likeable person. She's excelled in everything she's been involved with and she'll be an asset to our team this season."