RUAIRI MULLIN LUCAS GONCALVES BROWN UNIVERSITY GORDON COLLEGE

My first semester at Gordoncollegestarted right off thebat withachallenge:pre-season soccer tryouts I wasoneof threewalk-on playersthat werefightingfor aspot onthe Gordonmen?ssoccer team;wehungrily desired tobeafightingscott I didn? t comeinthebest shapesoevery day of pre-seasonwasaphysical andmental battle My legsached,my shins bruised,andmy calvescramped,but I persisted onwardattackingevery practicewithall my might Intheend I wastheonly walk-onplayer that wasgiftedtheopportunity tojointheteam, my effortswererewarded Astheseason progressedI gained confidenceand endedup startinginour quarter final playoff game Unfortunately,I wasn't abletoput oneinthenet thisseason,however next seasonwill bea different story OnethingI loveabout the Gordonsoccer teamisthat wearetruly brothers A family of 20+people Havingmy teammateshasmadeit easier to makefriends andI know that if I ever needanythingthey have my back

OnethingI look forwardto next semester is meetingnew peopleand joiningtheschool chapel choir whereI candevelopmy guitar playing I?malsoconsideringtakingsomeclasses inbusinessandmusic

I amcurrentlystudyingkinesiology - thestudy of humanmovement and it hasbeenachallenging andvery interestingcourse Next semester I will betakinganatomyand physiology andI will start toexaminethebody at acloser level,lookingat bones,andmuscles I amforever grateful for MVYouthandthisoneof akindopportunity,I can? t wait for thesecondsemester!

My first semester at Brownexceededall of my expectations.I havefoundmy timetheretobe incredibly enjoyablesofar Mycollegeworkload wasaseriousstepupfromthat of MVRHS Coursesininternational relations,economics, business,andaseminar inphilosophy challengedmeto think and work innew ways.I foundmyself doingmuchmorereadingand writingthanI ever hadbeforeandwasforcedto honetheseskills TheclassesI selected for my first semester kept meontrack tomajor in political science I amglad I donot haveto declareamajor until later inmy collegecareer andhopeto continueexploringdifferent coursesand fields Theschool work has sometimesbeendifficult toget through,but it is mademucheasier by thesupportiveand motivatedcommunity of studentsthat surroundme.EveryoneI havemet hasbeen incredibly kindandacademically driven Brown hassofar felt pretty small,makingthe transitionfromtheVineyardto collegemuch easier It hasbeeneasy to findpeopleI enjoy beingaroundandcommunitiesthat I canbea part of Providenceisalsoperfect for mein whereI want tobeat school Brownis separatedfromthecity withitsdistinct campus, but withdowntownjust atenminutewalk away.Thecity isawesomeandI haveenjoyed exploringareaslikeFederal Hill and FoxPoint Providenceiscloseenoughtohomethat I have beenabletocomeback onalongweekend whenI?vewantedto I cannot wait tocontinue my educationnext semester and tocontinue exploringeverythingmy school hastooffer.I amincredibly grateful for thecontinued support of MVYouth inhelpingmeadvancemy educationand I amexcitedfor thefutureand makingthemost of thisopportunity