When Iwona Lodzik was a young girl growing up in Poland, she had always dreamed about coming to the United States to attend college and play volleyball.  The fact that Iwona had been a standout volleyball player in Poland has helped the junior to achieve these goals and make her way to America, where she now plays volleyball at Northwestern University.  It was a dream that was also shared by Iwona's mother, Renata.

"That was basically the reason why I came here," Lodzik said.  "My mom, she's been here for awhile and she wanted me to come here.  She had all these dreams for me that I'm going to play volleyball here and I'm going to get a good education.  She thought I could use my talent to come here and get a degree from school.  So that was my dream when I was in Poland.  It just seemed unreal but now it happened."

Her mother was also an inspiration to Iwona in another way.  Renata, too, was a very talented athlete, and in fact, she had played professional basketball in Poland.

"She's a great inspiration and supporter," Iwona said.  "She knows what it feels like to play at this level and how tough it is and I have great support from here.  She's helped me to be where I am right now.  If it wasn't for her, basically I wouldn't be here."

Besides coming to the United States to play volleyball, Lodzik also wanted to come to America because of the opportunity to attend a good university.  She said that in Poland, there are a lot of opportunities to play sports, but the arrangement contrasts that of the academic and athletic structure of colleges in the United States.

"The system is a little bit different because in Europe, you play club volleyball," Lodzik said.  "Basically, the sport is outside of school so in sports, you could play professional volleyball and make money, but as far as school, they don't really care about how well you were doing in school and if you get your education.  That's the big difference about here and Poland is that here, you can play on a great team as well as go to a great school and get a degree."

Lodzik began playing volleyball when she was 11 years old and continued on through high school where she also played basketball and swam.  Her hard work on the volleyball court was rewarded when she earned a spot on the Polish Junior National Team at the age of 14.  That experience of being selected as one of the top young players in her country made Lodzik ecstatic that all the effort she put into volleyball had paid off.

"Oh yeah, that was just a great feeling," Lodzik said.  "I actually wasn't expecting it because I was the shortest one on the team.  When my coach came to me and said that I got a letter and I'm going to go for two weeks and train with national team, I was really excited.  It was such a great thing.  It's probably the best thing that can happen to someone who's involved in sports and loves it."

After high school, Lodzik came to the United States and admitted that it was tough to get over the language barrier and the fact that she didn't know many people in America.

"The transition from having all my friends and coming here and being by myself, not knowing anyone, and just starting over were the hardest things to get used to," Lodzik said.  "I guess that was the hardest part and (learning) the language was hard, too."

Playing volleyball helped Lodzik in making the transition to the United States from a foreign country.  Lodzik said that through volleyball, she met a lot of good people that eventually became her friends.

"When I was at Triton College, I played in several tournaments with a lot of the friends I met through volleyball, and that's when it started to come along and I started to like it," Lodzik said.  "Basically, that was like a transition, a point where it all changed."

After spending two seasons playing at Triton, Lodzik transferred to Northwestern, where she is an outside hitter for the Wildcats.  Although this is her first season playing at the Division I level, Lodzik has made a smooth transition.  She ranks among the Big Ten leaders in several categories including kills (3.33 per game), service aces (.34 per game), and digs (3.14 per game).

Lodzik is one of Northwestern's top players and has helped lead the team to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1984.  The Wildcats (17-15, 10-10 Big Ten) won their most contests since they recorded 18 victories in 1990, and have not won as many Conference matches since 1988 when Northwestern was victorious in 11 matches.

"My team has come along," Lodzik said.  "We had a rough start and everything is coming together.  We have such good individuals on our team, it's just that we needed that extra step or extra person that would make it happen.  We are a great team and each individual brings a lot to the team.  Maybe they just needed this little extra something that I've brought.  I can't explain it really because I'm just one person.  It's the whole team that has bonded."

Although Lodzik left her native homeland and has made new friends and adjusted to the different lifestyle in the United States, she still stays in touch with her family and old friends back in Poland.

Despite having to overcome a language obstacle and leaving her friends and some family thousands of miles away, Lodzik doesn't necessarily see herself as a role model.  However, she has shown that anyone with a dream can make it come true with hard work and the desire to succeed.

"It's hard for me to see myself as a role model but I've come a long way," Lodzik said.  "It wasn't easy but I know obviously my dream came true.  If anyone has a dream and anyone that plays sports in Poland wants to make it in the United States and be in school here and play here, I would say, yes, it's possible because anything can happen."