By Will Bellamy - Johns Hopkins '17
Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications
Lacrosse has been a cornerstone of Josie George's life for as long as she can remember.

George, a junior defender for the Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team, encountered the sport at an earlier age than most. Her father, Thomas, was a two-time All-American for Washington College in the early 1970's. She also grew up in Baltimore, which, bolstered by the presence of JHU, has long been something of a mecca for lacrosse.

George's love for the sport has led her on a journey that has included an impressive career at the Bryn Mawr School and a breakout sophomore season for the Blue Jays last year. Along the way, lacrosse has helped her grow as a person off the field by giving her a greater sense of confidence in herself and teaching her how to work as a part of a team.

The life skills that George has picked up while playing lacrosse are one of the reasons why she decided to become involved with Fields of Growth - a nonprofit organization that works to expand the sport around the world. Founded in 2009 by former college lacrosse player and coach Kevin Dugan, the organization operates primarily in Jamaica and Uganda.

George became interested in Fields of Growth after learning about it from a friend from her high school and later traveled with the organization to Uganda in the summer of 2013. Once there, she participated in activities related to the organization's three areas of emphasis: learning, coaching and serving.

"It was my first time out of the country and my first time away from home for more than probably 10 days ever," George said. "It was a pretty big endeavor for me to go there by myself. I was pretty nervous. I didn't know what to expect. But that was (also) the fun part about it because I really didn't have any expectations that could be let down because I didn't have any at all."

During the three weeks she spent in Uganda, George visited the cities of Kampala and Gulu, as well as the town of Jinja and the Khindu village. Her responsibilities included assisting with tryouts for the Ugandan Men's National Lacrosse Team and coaching teams from several all-girls boarding schools.

"Our organization started the lacrosse program (at the schools) in 2009, so 2013 was the fourth year that they had lacrosse," George said. "Even after two or three hours with (the players) in the afternoon, you would come back the next day and they would have exponentially improved.

"It was really cool to see (that) they were committed to getting better and learning about the sport."

George also helped out with construction and teaching at the HOPEFUL (Holistic Organization for People's Empowerment of Ugandan Locals) School in the Khindu Village. The school, which was founded by Fields of Growth in 2011 and is entirely funded by the organization, provides education to children who normally would not be able to afford the cost of tuition.

However, George's most important contribution to the efforts of the organization came after she had returned to the U.S. Along with a number of other Fields of Growth members, she started the Dream 2014 Campaign. The purpose of the campaign was to raise the necessary funds to bring the Ugandan Men's National Lacrosse Team to the U.S. for the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse World Championships in Denver. George and the other volunteers organized events, launched an online fundraising campaign and secured a sponsorship from Qatar Airlines. After accumulating the necessary funds, they turned their attention to petitioning for visas. In the end, their efforts were a success as the team traveled to Denver in July of 2014 for the World Championships.

The event proved to be not only an incredible experience for the players, but also a valuable opportunity for Fields of Growth to bring attention to its mission. "The men's lacrosse team is the only sort of potentially profitable part of the whole thing, so bringing the men's lacrosse team here to the United States got them a lot of exposure this past summer," George said. "And then the money we made from donations towards the organization (that we received) from exposing the team goes towards growing the team and sport, but also towards the HOPE school."

The fundraising experience was also a valuable one for George, who is currently pursuing a major in economics with a minor in entrepreneurship and management. "It's definitely helped me in my school work," she said. "The most important thing is the perspective. I feel like I can sort of see things from a little bit of a different angle."

Note: Former Johns Hopkins lacrosse player, Will McCance, made a documentary about the Ugandan Men's National Lacrosse Team. For more information about the film, visit http://www.kandotethemovie.com/.