TOWSON, Md. – Jayla Kang's optimism, smile and faith has helped her remain connected, focused and in great spirits during these unprecedented times.
 
On March 12th, Towson athletics followed suit with several conferences and schools across the country upon the recommendations of health officials and medical professionals to reduce the risk from the COVID-19 outbreak to cancel the spring sport season out of an abundance of caution.
 
"When I heard the news, I was disappointed and felt a little empty," Kang said. "However, I stayed positive throughout thinking this would be an opportunity for me to find little things in life that I have never discovered before. Thinking positive is the key in getting through this time. I believe that as soon as we get out from this crisis, we will feel refreshed and everything will start again from a new beginning."
 
A member of the Towson University women's golf team and native of Korea, Kang is one of the Tigers' international student-athletes, which has created an extra set of challenges – such as traveling home after Towson transitioned to distance learning for the remainder of the semester and closed all residence halls.
 
It wasn't easy.
 
First, she had to move her belongings -- packed away in big boxes and large duffel bags -- to another room in another building and the women's golf locker room. Then, after making the decision to return back home, Kang's parents encouraged her to change her flight, which was difficult as all airline websites were busy due to the virus outbreak.
 
"Packing the rest of my stuff and cleaning the room while trying to change the flight made it a challenging night," Kang said.
 
Fortunately, Kang received strong support from Towson director of athletics Tim Leonard and women's golf head coach Shannon Briggs.
 
"Coach was my significant support as she constantly checked in on me every day since the school closure until I arrived in Korea to see how I was doing," Kang said. "I remember she told me on the Monday night when I was trying to change the flight schedule that she'll stay awake until I figure it out, which I felt bad, but at the same time, I was very thankful for her support."

It took Kang 21 hours to fly home as her itinerary took her from Baltimore to New York to Incheon, South Korea, a city located in northwestern part of the country that borders Seoul and Gyeonggi to the east. With an estimated 3 million people, it's the third most populous city in South Korea. She had a two-hour layover in New York's JFK Airport after leaving Baltimore on Tuesday, March 24.
 
The 6,920 mile journey home helped her appreciate the impact she made on the course this year.
 
During the fall, she competed in five events and finished with a 76.9 average over 14 rounds. Her collegiate career low round of 71 (-1) in the second round of the Towson Invitational helped Towson win the tournament for the fifth time in program history. She was third overall at the Towson Invitational with a four-over 148. A gallant competitor bursting with energy, the 5 foot, 10 inch Kang also tied for 18th as the Tigers finished third the Bucknell Invitational (228 +18).
 
In the Kiawah Classic in March, her only tournament of the spring, Kang had three birdies in the final round and shot an even par on the front nine, which led to a three-over 75.
 
"This pandemic outbreak resulting in increasing rates of people infected with the Coronavirus and deaths has for sure put the whole world in fear," Kang said. "I was also scared about the virus in the beginning, but I am staying positive throughout this time and strictly following the ways of prevention when I go outside such as social distancing, washing hands under warm water for at least 20 seconds, and not touching objects in public space."
 
Thanks to technology and her time zone, which is 13 hours ahead of Towson, Kang has been able to adjust to remote learning.
 
"Remote learning has been going well so far overseas," Kang said. "For a few classes though, I personally think taking the quizzes and tests in-class seem to be better than taking them online. All my assignments and tests are due by midnight, which is equivalent to them being due by 1 p.m. here in Korea. Although I am ahead of time because of the bed time and other activities in the morning, it makes me finish and submit (my assignments) ahead of time."

After completing a two-week quarantine upon her immediate arrival home, Kang has spent time on the driving range, being with family, meeting new friends, doing yoga, reading novels like "The Friend Zone" and "One Of Us Is Lying" while staying in shape through team workouts devised by Paul Ricci and watching High Interval Training videos on YouTube.
 
Kang has also entertained herself by watching movies that she saw when she was in elementary and in middle school like "Ratatouille", and "Mary Poppins." She also re-watched the first season of "Friends."
 
"I enjoyed bringing back the memories of my childhood," Kang said. "Discovering small things was a great opportunity for me to slow things down and look back to my days and map out my future and prepare to take small steps forward. Being separated from my teammates was unexpected until school announced the closure.
 
"Every moment with the team is fun even though it is disappointing not being able to physically interact with them. We stay in contact through social media, and every Saturday, we do a team meeting, which is the best way for us to see each other's faces. Although we are distant, our minds are always together as one."