Thou didst mold us, dear old State

We are...One Big Family!

We are…One Big Family!

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Penn State original colors pink & black!

Reflecting back on the first day I got on campus, I am in awe of the opportunities that have been awarded to me only four short months. Being a freshman, I am pleased with how quick I assimilated on campus. After a few days of getting lost with the countless number of buildings and navigating the CATA bus system, I feel competent enough to lead my own tour around campus. Thinking back to the first day of school, I had high expectations for this university. Penn State had been a dream of mine since freshman year of high school and I told myself that when I got here, I would seize every opportunity that I have and make my time here at Penn State memorable.

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Penn State Basketball!

While it has only been four months, I feel like I have achieved that. I am taking classes that I am really interested in and I have fantastic teachers who really care about my learning. I have been able to attend lectures from fantastic people such as Brandon Stanton, Damali Ayo, Reverend Jim Lawson, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Ziauddin Yousafzai. These speakers have given me the opportunity to learn and think critically about the world outside of the classroom.  I have learned life lessons from these speakers I will not forget for a very long time.

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Volunteering with the Pregnancy Resource Center!

I have been able to be involved in various social progress seminars and retreats. I got to join a Social Justice Advocacy group and I will have the opportunity to speak at a symposium in the spring regarding social justice. I got to go on a weekend retreat through the global programming office which focused on global engagement and leadership with a group of international and American students. I also got to volunteer with the Pregnancy Resource Center and various THON events, thus teaching me the importance of social responsibility.

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Camping out at Nittanyville!

 

We all know that college isn’t fun without sporting events! I got to go to a ton of those this fall. I got season tickets for football and I got to camp out at Nittanyville this year. I also went to every Penn State Men’s Soccer game and helped establish a student section for the soccer team that keeps increasing popularity. I got to go to Pegula Ice Area and see a few hockey games. I also got basketball season tickets and it’s been a blast going to those games. My goal is to attend at least one sporting event of every Penn State varsity team. I’m getting really close. I’m super excited for Penn State’s next fencing match. Through Penn State sports I’ve got the opportunity to go places such as a trip to the University of Maryland with the soccer student section to cheer on our guys in a game.

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Global Engagement and Leadership Experience Retreat

Most importantly, I’ve met so many friends that I am confident that will be in my life for a very long time. I’ve met friends that I can be downright silly with and that I feel like I’ve known my whole entire life. I’ve gotten the opportunity to make friends from all over the world. How many people can say that they have friends from Sweden, Venezuela, India, Dubai, Korea, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Peru? Not many.

Roomate love in Hockey Valley

Roomate love in Hockey Valley

I’ve walked though almost all of downtown State College, explored local businesses, taken the bus to places around Centre County to explore, and visited almost every cool place on campus and luckily documented it all.

We've only known each other for a few months but it feels like we've been friends for life!

We’ve only known each other for a few months but it feels like we’ve been friends for life!

I owe all of this to Penn State. I look forward to the rest of my time here and I can’t wait to see what they next few semesters holds for me.

We Are Penn State!

History in the Making

For those of you that have been following my blog for the past semester, I want to say thank you. It is great that I can share my passion of American soccer with you all. This is the last post I’ll be writing on this website and I wanted to end it with the history of American soccer and discuss its bright future. 

Soccer is believed to have came to the Untied States in the mid 1800s. The question of who brought soccer to America is up to debate. Some will argue that it was brought through immigrants who came through Ellis Island. Others would argue that the game came from immigrants in New Orleans.

In 1913, the governing body of soccer in the United States, US soccer ,was born. US soccer was one of the first organizations to be affiliated with the world soccer governing body, FIFA. Although the United States national teams have yet to win a world cup, they have made significant strides since the founding of US Soccer 100 years ago.

The United States currently has three divisions of men’s soccer and one women’s soccer league. Attendance has skyrocketed in the top tier men’s soccer league, Major League soccer. TV ratings have almost tripled in the last four years.
The Women’s National team has won two world cups and are the best women’s soccer team in the world. The men’s soccer team has had successful World Cup campaigns, surviving the group of death consisting of Ghana, Portugal, and Germany. College soccer is on the rise. Even here at Penn State, the soccer attendance has not been this high since the 80’s. FIFA, the soccer video game is one of the highest selling video games in the world. People are taking notice of the sport and it is taking the country by storm.

As a huge soccer fan, it is a great thing to see. I am overjoyed that people in this country and taking a liking to the sport I love. 

If you’re interested in the sport, I’d encourage you to do some research about it. Follow @ussoccer or @PennStateMSOC & @PennStateWSOC on twitter. Come to a game and stand with us next year. Do some research and check out the soccer teams in your area. If you’re really interested, check out Global Football Today, a website that I write for. We love growing our fan base. Also, feel free to tweet me about any soccer related stuff @adrianabreziana.

Thanks again for reading my blog and I hope you stay connected with the sport.

In America, we call it soccer

Spain & the Education System

In September I started to track articles regarding the education system in Spain. Citizens of Spain have taken their frustrations to the streets to protest the budget cuts and lacking quality of Spain education as of late. Student have even gone as far as going into political buildings in order to get their point across.

While residents of Spain still have not given up their fight for high quality education, the statistics that were presented in an article published by the Guardian show the shocking facts and statistics regarding the education system in Spain.

The article cites that out of all of the countries in the European Union, Spain has the highest number of young adults ages 18-24 who leave educational intuitions prematurely with 23.6%.  The biggest issue regarding the dropout rates in the amount of poverty that is prevalent in Spain. Unicef reported that one in three children in Spain lived in poverty or were at risk of social inclusion in 2013. One of the direct consequences of poverty is lack of education. It is important that Spain can provide agencies to assist with this issue and improve their educational system to ensure that all students can be provided with great education.

I Believe That We Just Won!

The Penn State Nittany Lions are once again advancing in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament after a 2-1 win over Hartwick College.

10404494_735365913178642_2546251521159192229_nThe game began with Hatwick scoring first, putting the Nittany Lions in danger of being kicked out of the tournament against a non-ranked team. However,senior Mikey Minutill0 kicked the ball past the Hawks goalie to equalize the game 1-1 in the 60th minute. The Lions weren’t done yet. 10610696_735365949845305_7008281368633810799_nSophomore Brett Gravett scored his first (and very memorable) goal of the season in the 74th minute putting the Lions ahead of Hartwick. The Lions had a man advantage in the second half after a second yellow for Hartwick’s Jamie O’Grady.

The Lions will be traveling to New York this Sunday to face no. 9 Syracuse.

Let’s go state!

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