Centre's Chris Jackson Enjoying Life and Soccer While Studying Abroad

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Chris Jackson (third left) is representing the Centre men’s soccer team while studying abroad this term. One of the soccer stadiums they’ve visited is Camp Nou (above) in Barcelona, Spain.

DANVILLE, KY (04/22/2011)(readMedia)-- Chris Jackson of Oxford, a junior at Centre College in Danville, Ky., is studying abroad this semester with the Centre-in-Strasbourg program. More than 85 percent of Centre students study abroad, and like many of his teammates on the College's men's soccer team Jackson's past few weeks have involved papers, exams, museum tours, and lengthy travels. But he's found more than enough time for soccer.

Jackson and a teammate from Connecticut have been taking advantage of the soccer culture of Les Francais, training and playing pick-up as much as they can in Strasbourg. They've managed to play at least three times a week when not traveling, and try to get once a week in on travel weekends. They're also looking forward to watching some professional games from the various leagues around the area.

"I can't say enough positive things about my time spent here in Strasbourg and traveling around Europe," Jackson says. "It's been an amazing journey of eye-opening experiences spent with my best friends in the world. Being surrounded in a foreign country on a day-to-day basis by my Centre classmates, and more significantly my Centre soccer teammates, has been truly special."

The five Centre Soccer players currently studying abroad will return home in May after what will have been a 12-week terms in Europe. Less than three months after their return, they'll be back in a Centre soccer uniform, training hard in preseason for what will be each of their senior seasons.

Jackson is the son of William and Jane Jackson of Oxford and is a graduate of Talawanda High School.

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Forbes magazine ranks Centre 24th among all the nation's colleges and universities and has named Centre No. 1 among all institutions of higher education in the South for two years in a row. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices.