What does a student-athlete experience in the United States bring to you and offer? How difficult is it to adapt? What difficulties do you have to face and how much does living and playing in a country that is far away and very different from Italy affect your personal growth?
We have Silvia Grassini, a student-athlete who lived her experience at Towson College, answer directly.
“I’ve lived the last three years in Towson where I graduated with a degree in International Business and where I had the opportunity to play volleyball on a Division I team. It was a thrilling experience from all points of view. Sportsmanwise, I had the satisfaction of winning the CAA Conference my senior year with my team, and of fighting in the NCAA Tournament playoffs. On a didactic level, the training I received exceeded my expectations; Classes with less than 30 students have allowed me to learn more efficiently and to establish personal relationships with professors, and consequently to build my own network of professional acquaintances.”
EXPERIENCE AND GROWTH PATH – “This experience has made me grow a lot. I realized that during this journey I slowly turned into an adult, and certainly having to do everyday things without parents helped in my growth. From an athletic point of view, I have grown a lot mentally and physically. The athletic preparation both during the season and in the off-season was much more intense than those I had experienced in Italy in the past years, and overcoming my physical limits was a difficult test: many times I asked myself “but who made me do it??”. But in the end, pushing those boundaries made me a different person (and a much more physically prepared athlete) and taught me to never give up, no matter how difficult the situation in front of me.”
SPORTLINX360’S SUPPORT – “Sportlinx has supported me at all stages of this journey. He helped me to look for a college and a team that was interested in me, and that would meet my demands of the type of education I wanted to receive and once I found the team, he helped me to prepare all the bureaucratic part by following me in the preparations and surely I would have been lost without them, because certain things, Including visas, language exams, and university documents can be challenging to obtain without anyone to guide you. Once I left, I was always in contact with Jesica and Elitza who always made sure that everything went well. Sportlinx has proven to be a valid and serious ally in making my wishes come true, and if I hadn’t been in contact with them I probably wouldn’t have been able to have the experience I did.”
FUTURE – “Despite all the uncertainties about the future due to COVID-19, I managed to get a position as a graduate assistant to also get my master’s degree in the USA. I don’t know how the transition from player to coach will go, but hopefully it will be just as challenging. I have a few last details to complete but I should start everything in August.”
