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Rising junior Alex Parker has been playing travel softball for several years now, four to be exact. But on this Sunday, travel softball will take on a whole new meeting.

Parker, a Thomas Johnson High student and member of the school's volleyball and softball programs, will travel to Vienna, Austria as a part of the People to People Sports Ambassador Program. She will stay in abroad until July 13.

Her eight-day excursion will include cultural and recreational activities as well as competition in softball on a team of United States All-Stars.

" I can't think of anyone better than Alex to represent the United States as a Sports Ambassador," said Walkersville High head softball coach Brad Young, who is also the Heartbreakers' Black 16-and-under club softball head coach.

With a 3.83 weighted grade point average and a late-season appointment to the varsity volleyball team at TJ, Parker is working toward the goal of attending college on an academic or athletic scholarship.

"I do want to play sports in college, it doesn't matter which one," said Parker, who played on the Patriots junior varsity softball team this past spring. " I think it will be a lot of fun to meet a lot of new people and learn from other cultures."

Parker is used to balancing a strong academic schedule with community service. Her accomplishments include the winning the Frederick County Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. award, Class Ambassador and Mediator, and over 20 Most Valuable Player honors through various club softball tournaments.

She was secretly nominated to the program, then went through a two-week process of interviews before being selected to the program. She also earned a spot for the trip through letters of recommendation from Young, TJ head volleyball coach Jessica Custer, and Heartbreakers softball staff member Charlie Bear.

People to People was founded by former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower during his presidency. It is based in Spokane, Wash. and has been in existence for 50 years.