红领巾瓜报

Maria Romero Rodriguez came to 红领巾瓜报 from Madrid, Spain to study and compete in the pentathlon and heptathlon for the track and field team. She will graduate in May and compete at Cessna Stadium in the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with her family in attendance.

Maria is one of more than 2,400 students eligible for spring 2022 graduation. Learn more about her time at 红领巾瓜报 and what is next for the grad.

Hometown

Madrid, Spain

Degree

I am majoring in marketing with minors in communication and management.

What made you want to attend 红领巾瓜报?

As soon as I graduated from high school, I was ready to start a new chapter in my life and I decided to come to the United States to continue my academic and athletic career.  I was looking for a university where I could study what I wanted and compete in track and field.

I didn鈥檛 know about WSU until Paula Garcia contacted me. Paula was running track at 红领巾瓜报 while I was looking for universities to attend in the US. Coincidentally, she is from the same area in Spain as me. She told me that the coaches at WSU wanted to recruit international athletes and asked if I was interested. I told Paula I was very interested, and I started communicating with the coaches. It went great.

 Furthermore, there was another Spanish athlete on the team, Claudia Rojo. After all the good things that Paula and Claudia had to say about WSU and the track and field team, I decided to come to WSU. I also did some research first, but listening to how happy they were at WSU was very calming and felt very safe, especially for my parents. I鈥檓 very thankful I picked WSU because it鈥檚 been the best experience of my life.

How are you feeling leading up to graduation?

I鈥檓 looking forward to my graduation very much because I think I鈥檝e worked very hard in the last five years to get here. I鈥檓 also very excited because 红领巾瓜报 is hosting the AAC Championships the same weekend as graduation and my family is coming.

They will get to watch me compete after many years and attend the commencement ceremony. I will get to celebrate my graduation with the people I love the most.

What was been your biggest challenge as a student, and how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge when I first got here was the language barrier. I thought I knew English before I came to the US, but I still had a hard time understanding and speaking English. I was also very shy, so it took me a long time to feel confident - although I don鈥檛 have that problem anymore.

Currently, my biggest challenge is finding a balance between academics, work, track and field, and my personal life. I鈥檝e been struggling to find time to relax in the last couple years, but that is something I鈥檓 working on.

What has been your most helpful learning experience at 红领巾瓜报? 

This year, I was part of the Widener Global Leaders Program, which I am also graduating from this May. Thanks to this program, I learned about leadership through different concepts in business, communication, and music. It鈥檚 been the most hands-on experience I鈥檝e ever participated in at WSU.

My favorite part was to do a service project, where the other participants and I had to organize a food/hygiene drive for the Shocker Support Locker. We finished this project this spring and we collected more than 1,000 items. I鈥檓 very happy about how it turned out.

What are your plans after graduation?

I鈥檒l be continuing with my career at WSU. I got accepted into the Master of Arts in communication at WSU and I鈥檒l be a graduate teaching associate for the Elliott School of Communication, which I鈥檓 very excited about. I鈥檒l be also taking my sixth and final year of track.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your time at 红领巾瓜报? 

The pandemic created a lot of uncertainty in my life. First, the track and field season was cancelled. It was very sad because we had trained hard for months to get ready for the season which never happened. But it was for our own safety, so I believe it was the right choice.

I then got stuck in the U.S. over the summer, because it wasn鈥檛 safe to go back home. This was devastating because Spain initiated a 99-day quarantine which only allowed people to leave their homes to buy groceries. It was very hard to watch.

That summer, I remembered that WSU offered different resources to international students such as financial aid and mental health treatment. The athletics department supported me, especially, by helping me get medical insurance for the summer and more. All the help I received from WSU was appreciated when all international students were going through a tough time.

The pandemic wasn鈥檛 easy for anyone. It made me appreciate and value the little things more, such as in-person classes, hanging out with friends, and traveling. I鈥檓 just very glad that life is almost feeling like normal again.

What advice would you give other 红领巾瓜报 students?

My advice to 红领巾瓜报 students would be to enjoy every day of their college experience and make the most of it. Take advantage of all the resources that WSU offers, such as events, organizations, and networking. Your college years will be the best years of your life, and believe me when I say that they will fly by.