PISCATAWAY, N.J. – When former Rutgers women's lacrosse letterwinner Katrina Martinelli was approached about a possible volunteer trip to Costa Rica, she felt it was only appropriate to involve her sister, Jenna Martinelli. Currently a rising sophomore for the Scarlet Knights, Jenna jumped on the opportunity to help her sister teach lacrosse to children in another country, a game that has had such an impact on both of their lives.
 
With the assistance of Student Cultural Exchange, Jenna and Katrina chaperoned 21 student-athletes from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, and Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California on a volunteer trip to Playa Samara, Costa Rica, from Aug. 1-9.
 
"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life," Jenna said. "Just being able to give back to people who don't have as much while playing the sport I love was just an awesome experience and I would absolutely recommend more players, even the ones in high school, to go on the trip themselves."
 
Student Cultural Exchange, a program that provides immersion-based travel opportunities to help transition eager young minds into caring and socially conscious global citizens, organized the trip. The program has sent high school and college lacrosse players to Costa Rica for the past 13 years.
 
"What an amazing and fulfilling experience for Katrina and Jenna to have had," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "Lacrosse provides so much opportunity to bond people of different backgrounds and we are all really proud of what they represent"
 
When the SCE presented Katrina with a chance to lead a trip to Costa Rica, the former All-Big East selection as a Scarlet Knight could not pass up the opportunity. As the head coach of the women's lacrosse team at Archbishop Mitty, Katrina believed it would be a valuable experience for her program as well as for herself.
 
"It was such an awesome experience for myself, my sister and the rest of the girls that we were able to bring there," Katrina said. "The kids that we worked with were just so happy to have us there and were very thankful for the donations we brought over. It was so rewarding to bring everything that comes so easily for us in the United States to children who were excited for us to be there."
 
The week-long excursion was jam-packed with activities and learning experiences for the Costa Rican children, who varied from ages six to 12 years old. The 21 high school student-athletes split into four groups to help lead four different activities: community service, arts and crafts, small activities and the lacrosse clinic.
 
On the first day, the group handed out donated lacrosse sticks, tank tops, balls and other materials needed to play the game, as the children lacked some of the necessary items to compete.
 
"Some of the girls didn't even have women's sticks, but instead were playing with men's equipment," Katrina said. "With all of the donations, however, we were able to properly supply them with everything they needed."
 
Once equipped, the children were then able to partake in mini games designed to work on fundamentals. At the end of each day, the group split the children into teams for the lacrosse clinic and had them scrimmage one another as well as with the men's Costa Rica national team. By the end of the week, Jenna was amazed at how much progress they made.
 
"It was awesome seeing them grow," Jenna said. "We were with the same kids throughout the week. From day one to the last day, you could see kids getting better. Conditions there are a lot different than where we're from. They have a lot less. So teaching those kids made them so happy. It was just awesome to show them a new game."
 
But off-the-field aspects were also stressed, which included community service. The volunteer group worked with the children to paint two different schools in the area as a way to give back to the community. Katrina used her community service experiences learned at Rutgers to help with this, as she had worked with the local soup kitchen and with the Friends of Jaclyn organization during her time with the program under Brand Sias.
 
"I learned a lot from coach Brand," Katrina said. "She was always getting us involved in community service projects, so I always knew that I loved community service and giving back to the game that provided me so much. I loved that as an athlete, we were able to give back to the community and grow the game. That was a huge part of it."
 
As for a return trip, Jenna said it would be a no-brainer.
 
"I'm going to try and go back next summer," Jenna said. "I would love to take a position with the company that organizes these trips. I think it could be something that happens more than just once a year for us. The experience was fantastic."
 
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's lacrosse, follow the program Facebook, and on Twitter and Instagram @RULaxBrand. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.