«Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans».
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” This sentence seems to be perfect to tell the American adventure of Alessia Venturelli.
Her path has been different from the initial plans, this has probably shaped her even more and made her grow. This is the story of Alessia Venturelli, Sportlinx360 student-athlete who tells us about her experience: “I was originally supposed to do the first two years at a junior college in Jacksonville, Florida, but some things went wrong before I even left, which is why I ended up at Laramie County Community College, Wyoming, where I spent my first year before moving to my current university. Despite the change of plans at the last second, I am now very happy with the choice I made. Laramie County Community College is definitely a smaller, less dispersed environment and this has been key to reducing the shock of the big change. Also at the beginning I still struggled a lot with English, being at a junior college my first year helped me. I found helpful teachers who supported me in my integration and a suitable environment to grow and learn. As far as volleyball is concerned, I got on well right away with coaches and teammates, they also helped me a lot and welcomed me greatly.”
Right from the start Alessia showed a great ability to adapt, she had a first wonderful experience in Wyoming as she confirms herself: “I had a great time at Laramie County Community College, so much so that for a while I considered staying my sophomore. I met so many special people with whom I still talk almost every day. In the team I immediately felt accepted and I quickly bonded with all my teammates. The fact that we were a very close-knit team certainly contributed to the many victories we had that season, which took us all the way to the national finals where we finished ninth. As far as Wyoming is concerned, it is certainly a very different place from Italy, yet this change has helped me a lot, it has allowed me not only to see new places, but also to compare myself with people with different cultures and ideas, making me discover new sides of my character and helping me to grow as a person.”
Right from the start Alessia showed a great ability to adapt, she had a first wonderful experience in Wyoming as she confirms herself: “I had a great time at Laramie County Community College, so much so that for a while I considered staying my sophomore. I met so many special people with whom I still talk almost every day. In the team I immediately felt accepted and I quickly bonded with all my teammates. The fact that we were a very close-knit team certainly contributed to the many victories we had that season, which took us all the way to the national finals where we finished ninth. As far as Wyoming is concerned, it is certainly a very different place from Italy, yet this change has helped me a lot, it has allowed me not only to see new places, but also to compare myself with people with different cultures and ideas, making me discover new sides of my character and helping me to grow as a person.”
Even on an academic level, during her career, Alessia has changed: “I started studying marine biology because I was very interested in the subject and because Florida is the perfect place to study this kind of thing, but last year I changed my degree and I’m currently studying molecular and cell biology and biotechnology. The reason for this choice was a bit due to a change of interests, but also to the fact that it will probably allow me to have more job opportunities in the future. I still don’t know what I want to do after graduation, right now, maybe also because of what’s happening in the world, I’m thinking of specializing in areas such as pharmacology or virology, but it’s still to be seen.”
Speaking of choices, we asked her when the idea and the desire to fly to the States was born: “Let’s say that I’ve always had this idea of wanting to study abroad, so much so that I initially thought about doing the fourth year of high school in the United States. It all came to fruition when during my last year of youth I received a message on Facebook from Jesica talking about the possibility of becoming a student-athlete in the USA and reporting the Sportlinx360 website. Having no idea yet what I was going to do with my volleyball career and knowing that I wanted to continue studying, I started to get more interested in it and after talking to Jesica and Elitza I was convinced to start with this project. Sportlinx360 was fundamental as it supported me throughout the process, informed me about what were the fundamental steps to be able to secure a start, but above all it put me in contact with universities and coaches. If it weren’t for them, this experience would probably still be a pipe dream.”
In the Venturelli household, volleyball is a family affair as his sister also plays volleyball, today together with our Caterina Cigarini, in Volley Montale (A2). A passion born from an early age: “I started playing volleyball when I was about 7 years old. My sister, being older, was already playing and this certainly pushed me to want to start. The passion was great right from the start, I loved playing and I liked spending time in the gym with my friends. At the age of 14 I started playing for the Anderlini volleyball school in Modena where I then remained for all the years of the youth teams. Those were the years that formed me as a player and that made me even more passionate, so much so that once I turned 18 I knew I had to continue playing, which is also why I chose to come to the USA where it is much easier to combine sport and study”.
