Hi guys! My name is Ingrid Gamarra Martins and I’m from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I’ve been traveling the world hitting a tennis ball since I was 12 years old. I got my first tennis racket when I was 4. Since then, tennis has been a huge part of my life. I currently play for the University of South Carolina in Columbia while studying Integrated Information Technology. I arrived here in August, 2015 when I was 18 years old. In May, 2019 I will graduate and start my career on the professional tennis circuit.
Nowadays, a lot of people have the desire to study in another country. During these past three years of coming and going between the USA and Brazil –studying and playing tennis– I realized that not many people (including me prior to experiencing it) get too much insight of what it is like to be a student-athlete at American universities.
Whenever I talk with adults I can sense their curiosity and interest to gain insight so they can guide their children in the future. When I talk with young people, their eyes are bright and I can feel their desire to experience all the energy that the combination of sports and studies can bring into their lives, as well as providing a level of experience and knowledge that no one else can take away from them.
Since a lot of people come to me asking about life in the USA, the process of coming to college, and my experiences here, plus my love for helping others as much as I can, I decided to create this blog where I would have the opportunity to write a little bit of everything.
Putting everything together, here is the “Por Onde Andei…” (“Where I’ve Been…”), a place that was idealized in my mind during a sleepless night and inspired by breathtaking days.
Welcome to this journey! Shared happiness is double happiness.