Tag Archives: Athletics

Taz: Making Big Waves in SD and Brazil

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Name: Jose Tomaz de Alencar

Country: Brazil

Major: Communications with a minor in International Business

Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, French

 

996885_318972594905494_1632919081_n (1)“My name is Jose Tomaz de Alencar and I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Coming from a family of five brothers, all of which have double-names (“nomes compostos”), each one of us has a nickname, mine being Taz. I picked up English at a very early age through private tutoring. Likewise, by traveling to Spanish-speaking countries and befriending Spanish-speaking people I learned a mixture of Portuguese and “Español”; I call it Portuñol. I was also fortunate enough to spend my high school years at the American School of Paris, where I picked up a little bit of French. When I came to college I was uncertain of what I wanted for my future. After many conversations with my family and peers I decided to pursue a path of entrepreneurship. My major at the University of San Diego is Communication Studies, with a minor in International Business.

12050_10151473194731636_226494511_nWhen applying for colleges I knew I wanted to study in California. My brother was studying in UC Santa Barbara at the time, and after a couple of visits I knew this was the place for me. I wanted the sunny weather and firing waves that I had experienced while visiting California. When I arrived, I was not surprised to see that was exactly what San Diego had in store for me. At first, I was solely focused on experiencing the luxurious lifestyle of a Californian. However, as I matured and grew intellectually, I noticed that all of the tools I need to succeed in this life are in the same environment in which I sunbathe and surf. Here, I am surrounded by innovative minds that constantly challenge one another–I have multiple entrepreneurial friends who have their own start-ups and have begun to see profit. Everyday I am enlightened by brilliant professors who challenge me in ways that I have never been pushed before. For the first time in my life, I have started to see what my future might look like. I was no longer worrying about the next party or the next wave, but rather my next steps toward pursuing a successful career.
1013108_10151477115471636_1353255079_n (1)I decided to take a semester abroad my Sophomore year to return to Brazil and be with my family. I went to the International Office to explore my options and was presented an opportunity to study abroad back home. This gave me the chance to attain credits while being with my family through some tough times. The staff helped make the transition smooth and stress-free. Coincidentally, USD’s corresponding PUCE University in Brazil happened to be the same university at which many of my friends were studying. I would be walking around campus and run into some surprised friends, often exclaiming, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back in California?” It was intriguing to experience how different university classes were and a student life lacking an actual “community campus.” Overall, I loved experiencing the university in Brazil. More importantly, I loved being there for my family when they needed me most. I sincerely thank USD for the opportunity to studying ‘abroad’ when I needed to, as well as the opportunity to studying abroad here and experience the amazing Californian life.”

 -Jose Tomaz De Alencar

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(Photos by Jose Tomaz De Alencar)

A Global Game

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USD Women’s Tennis Program – A Melting Pot of International Talent

From USD Magazine – It’s hard not to notice how much fun Shani Blecher and Colomba DiFilippo are having on a sun-splashed afternoon at USD’s Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center. The uniform row of hardcourts adjacent to their position in the stands reverberates with the
metronomic beat of ball meeting racquet as their women’s tennis teammates hone their skills during an off-season practice session, but the two friends are busy talking story, and that’s clearly much more interesting than watching forehand volley drills.

The conversation is so very co-ed; classes, pending exams, trips to the beach and a planned outing downtown to sample a new restaurant are brought up in no particular order, and the constant giggling and ease with which they move from one talking point to the next suggests they’ve been pals since preschool. The fact that their respective hometowns of Shoham, Israel and Santiago, Chile are nearly 8,000 miles apart throws a giant monkey wrench in that theory, however — much to the delight of USD Women’s Tennis Head Coach Sherri Stephens.

“We really try to create a family environment with this team, especially when considering that a lot of our players are far, far away from home,” she says. “I think it’s critically important to make that transition as smooth as possible.”

With more than three decades of experience helming the Torero tennis program, Stephens has earned her share of frequent
flier miles searching the globe for talents like Blecher and DiFilippo. Along the way, she’s learned that coaching internationally born-and-raised players successfully requires a delicate balance of discipline and empathy.

“Most of them are experiencing major culture shock when they arrive, and it’s really important that they understand and embrace our team concept. But you also need to be aware that these are young women who more than likely have never been this far away from home, and occasionally just need a shoulder to cry on.”

Stephens relays a story about a player she recruited from Ireland who would write the number of days she had left before she could return home on her hand; rubbing off and updating the figure every 24 hours. “I was sure I was going to lose her when she went home for the holidays, but she came back and never looked back. She ended up becoming a leader on the team, and one of my best friends.”

The 2014-15 roster could easily be mistaken for a United Nations delegation, as five of the world’s seven continents are represented. That type of diversity is exactly what Stephens is looking for, on a variety of levels. “I love the idea that USD is a place where student athletes from all over the world can come and get an amazing education to complement their athletic experience. I think it’s what the university is all about.”

Pictured above from left to right are Head Coach Sherri Stephens, Mikayla Morkel-Brink, Marta Stojanovic, Colomba DiFilippo, Shani Blecher and Dana Oppinger.

By Mike Sauer

USD Soccer Part of International Students’ Acclimation!

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From Inside USD —  Down 1-0 at halftime of its season-opening game against the University of Buffalo last Friday, the USD men’s soccer team was off to one side of the Torero Stadium field to discuss second-half strategy.

As that happened, ThomasInternationalSoccer-group Debray was one of five Torero fans picked for a contest. Contestants sprinted to midfield, collected a soccer ball and kicked the ball into the net for a goal. Debray, running as fast as he could, reached the ball first and completed the task to claim a free pizza as his prize.

After posing for a celebratory photo, Debray returned to his seat. Meanwhile, the USD soccer team returned to the field and proceeded to take care of business with four unanswered goals, including two in the first two minutes. While it was an impressive offensive display, one might concur that the sizzling halftime strike by Debray, an international exchange student from Strasbourg, France, was a sign of good things to come.

Debray sat with nearly 100 fellow USD international students and staff members from the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) who’d walked from Serra Hall to the stadium. A social event during USD’s international student orientation, both Debray’s effort and the Toreros’ second-half surge gave the latter’s newest fans plenty of reasons to smile, clap and cheer.

“I like that I’m not just coming to the U.S. on holiday, but I will be here for one year,” said Debray, a senior who is studying business marketing and wants to learn entrepreneurship from a U.S. perspective. Being at USD opens up other possibilities, too. “I want to discover all of San Diego. I want to travel, do a road trip to other parts of California, to Las Vegas and see the Grand Canyon.”

The University of San Diego, just beginning its 2014-15 academic year, is a growing popular destination institution for international students. The student population has grown immensely in the last few years. USD had more than 700 international undergraduates, graduate and law students in 2013, OISS Director Chia-Yen Lin said, and that number could rise this year.

The large group on Friday, despite members being from several different countries, was unified. They wore white t-shirts with “Torero Time” and a picture of mascot Diego Torero’s face. Individually, students were happy they’d chosen USD.

Russian Alexandra Leonidova is an incoming freshman from Togliatti, southeast of Moscow. Interested in becoming a doctor, she’s looking into USD’s pre-med program and plans to major in either biology or chemistry. She’s not new to the U.S., either, with visits to Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York at age 15. Two years later, she was in Wisconsin on a scholarship for a Future Leaders Exchange program.

California was where she wanted to attend college. Via USD’s website, she learned about its dedication to international students and study and that USD’s Campus Recreation offers ballroom dance classes.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “When I saw USD on its website, I thought it would be the perfect place to be.”

International student-athletes on a USD sports roster is a common sight. Men’s soccer, for instance, has players from Germany, Norway, Canada and England.

Another USD sport with a strong international presence is tennis. Lisa Schlatter, a native of Tyrol, Austria, is a freshman who will vie for a spot on Coach Sherri Stephens’ women’s team this year. Schlatter checked out USD’s academic programs and has interest in studying business. But she’s equally focused on tennis, being among other international students and immersing herself in American culture.

“It is a beautiful campus, great weather and I’ve already been to the beach,” she said. “It’s been easy to find new friends. I look forward to playing tennis and being more independent.”

Schlatter, Leonidova and Debray and most new USD international students seem to enjoy what USD has to offer. Seeing how the international student orientation programming has gone so far, this makes junior mechanical engineering major, Khaled Alaskar of Kuwait, very happy.

“I want to share my experiences with the other international students and help them not make the same mistakes I did,” said Alaskar, who is part of the international student orientation team. “I want them to know I understand what they’re going through right now.”

Alaskar’s “mistakes” aren’t truly that; more so, he’s now doing for other international students what current OISS Associate Director Greg Grassi, a 1996 USD alumnus, did for him.

“Greg helped me come out of my shell,” he said. “I now have a lot of American friends as well as international friends. It’s been easy for me to blend the two together.”

Alaskar’s advice to other international students is for them to not be shy, to get involved on campus and take full advantage of campus resources such as meeting with professors during office hours, visiting and seeking help through the Center for Student Success and finding an organization or activity that connects them within the campus community.

“That’s why I joined the international orientation team,” Alaskar said. “I’d meet RA (Resident Assistants) and PA (Preceptorial Assistants) students and I’d always see how happy they were, happy about what they were doing. Being an orientation leader, I’ve found an opportunity and now I know what that happy feeling is like, too. I recommend that all students to get out of the bubble.”

Friday’s soccer game was a start. Noticeably, there were loud cheers from the group during pre-game player introductions, especially when a Torero international student-athlete’s name was called. It was a reminder that anywhere they go on campus, there’s always the potential to find a place that makes them feel right at home.

— Ryan T. Blystone