![\"Alexander](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2020\/11\/Alex-1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAlexander Zuluaga<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Psychology, \u201921<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Men\u2019s soccer (Forward)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was expecting to see a lot of student-athletes like myself that have the same goals in mind, to find like-minded people, which I have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to get distracted in a bigger city, but being here has kept me focused on what I want to achieve in soccer and academically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d like to try out for a soccer team. I want to get my bachelor\u2019s degree as a thank you to my parents for everything they did for me. Maybe I\u2019ll go to vocational school to become a vitals monitor in surgical rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe university needs to be open to criticism, and willing to hear people out. They need to listen to students\u2019 concerns because there\u2019s a lot of opportunity to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Business Administration, \u201921<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrestling (Heavyweight)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very close community, very supportive. Everybody knows each other, and it\u2019s very welcoming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to absorb everything from my teachers, become a national champion and just be involved on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe university could add a free resource to help students learn and understand what people of color go through. There are a lot of people from small towns in Eastern Oregon where they just haven\u2019t been exposed or they just aren\u2019t really educated on what people of color deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProviding counseling for people of color who need it would make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Exercise science, \u201922<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Women\u2019s soccer (Defense)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was looking for a school with small classes, where professors know you and want to help you. I\u2019ve loved it so far.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLa Grande is a small town with a hugely supportive community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would love to attend grad school and go into occupational therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEOU is a very welcoming place. There\u2019s so many opportunities for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s allowed to grow and follow their dreams. In order to continue making EOU a place where everyone feels welcomed and supported, the university should reach out to students, professors and staff to continue looking for ways to make EOU a great place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Physical education, \u201922<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wrestling (Heavyweight)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI definitely expected to adjust because I grew up in one town my entire life. I had to learn what it\u2019s like to not be known and how to build new relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know people who are my dear friends now who just needed that exposure. It\u2019s about finding a way to create experiences for people coming in from rural areas who just haven\u2019t had that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c99% of it is a great experience \u2026 I have white friends who are getting to know me and I\u2019m getting to know them, and we\u2019re learning about each other. When we get our education, it\u2019s not just about the books, it\u2019s about meeting new people and learning about the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Four EOU student-athletes share their ideas about how the university can contribute to conversations about race and equity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":380,"featured_media":1420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,3],"tags":[25,56,45],"class_list":["post-1413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2020","category-university-news","tag-athletics","tag-diversity","tag-student"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/380"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1413"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1427,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1413\/revisions\/1427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\n![\"Noel](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2020\/11\/Noel.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nNoel Orozco<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Yahaira](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2020\/11\/Yaya.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYahaira (Yaya) Chavarria-Mondragon<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n![\"Marco](\"https:\/\/www.eou.edu\/mountaineer-magazine\/files\/2020\/11\/Marco.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nMarco Retano<\/h4>\n\n\n\n