Why Wesleyan? - West Virginia Wesleyan College

and finds a way for it to be successful. Ithas been a pleasure to coach her as a playerand to get to know her as a person.”Not only is Zayas’s athletic abilityincredible, she also carries all of her hardwork and talent into the classroom. Asan exercise sciencemajor with a 3.8 gradepoint average, Zayashas demonstrated agreat work ethic in hercoursework. She notonly holds down a fullcourse load and excelson two athletic teams;she is involved in campusministries, AlphaXi Delta sorority, andFellowship of StudentAthletes and Outreach.During May Term2009, Zayas traveledto the Amazon witha group of Wesleyanstudents to have aonce-in-a-lifetime experience. “By comingto Wesleyan, I have had the opportunityto travel to the Amazon and it was oneof the best experiences of my life. I cameback with a whole new appreciation forlife. I also made some great friends alongthe way; honestly, I wish I was still there,”said Zayas.Zayas even had the opportunity to shareher love for soccer with the children whileshe was there. “My favorite thing thatwe did was every evening around five wewould go to a village and play soccer withthe kids. It is amazing how much theylove soccer. Seeing the excitement ontheir faces was priceless.”During her travels, Zayas also was able toexperience the culture of one of the tribesin that area. “The tribe was dying out, butthey showed us their traditions. I learnedinteresting things about their culture; it isfascinating how different their beliefs,customs and ways of life are.” Afterreflecting on this experience Zayas said,“It made me really appreciate everythingI have. I never realized how many littlethings we take for granted here in America.If I would not have come to Wesleyan,“Two words come tomind when thinkingabout Meghan:humble anddexterity.”I may never have had the opportunity tohave this great experience.”Since leaving Louisiana, Meghan hasbeen able to benefit from the Wesleyanexperience. “I have grown as a personsince I have been here. I definitely hadto learn responsibilityreally fast. I am very independentnow, have asolid set of beliefs, andknow what I want outof life. The Wesleyanexperience has helpedme develop into theperson I am.”Not all of thishappened right awayfor Zayas. Leavinghome and being so faraway from her familytook a toll on her forawhile. “The hardestpart of coming here wasnever being able to seemy family. I come froma big family and we are very close. It didnot take long for me to develop a supportsystem here, and I have an amazingroommate who makes me feel at home.”Zayas is not your typical student-athlete.She works hard to accomplish all of hergoals on and off of the playing field, andshe is open to learning from new andexciting experiences. After graduation,she would like to do some type ofmissionary work or maybe join the PeaceCorps. Then she plans to continue hereducation in graduate school for eitherphysical or occupational therapy.“I am just going wherever the roadtakes me. I am hoping it is somewhereexciting!” concluded Zayas.About the AuthorCarlee Gault ’10 graduated magna cumlaude in May with a degree in CommunicationStudies. While at Wesleyan, Carleewas a member of the women’s soccer team,the women’s basketball team, and Alpha XiDelta sorority. She is originally from Sterling,Ohio. During spring semester 2010, shecompleted an internship experience withWesleyan’s Office of Alumni Relations.The fall athletic season is hereand Bobcat fans will quicklynotice recent facility upgrades.This summer, Ross Field wasrenovated with new bleachersincluding nearly 1,100 seats forfans. Rockefeller Arena now hasnew lights and scoreboards.There is also new signage in andaround the Rockefeller complex.Check out team schedules athttp://bobcats.wvwc.edu andcome take a look at our newand-improvedfacility upgrades.SUMMER/FALL 2010 SUNDIAL 23