On Tuesday, February 13th, McClatchy students came out to the gym to celebrate with senior McClatchy soccer players Lilliana Chisler and Ginger Harris as they each accepted college scholarships. Chisler is going to be attending Menlo College, located in Atherton, California, and Harris will be attending the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Chisler received an athletic scholarship from Menlo College, where she will be playing for their high-achieving women’s soccer team. The scholarship she received will cover everything that FAFSA doesn’t already, meaning Chisler essentially has a full ride.
Chisler, who’s been playing soccer since she was four years old, said that playing college-level soccer was always her goal, but that she often worried her grades would interfere with it.
“I’ve failed classes, like I’m not shy about that,” said Chisler. She added that people tend to think failing classes will stop them from achieving their goals, but felt it was important to “just work towards it as hard as you can and keep on going.”
“Failure does not stop you; it’s what starts a new beginning. You just learn from your mistake, you keep going, and you’ll be fine,” she said.
This scholarship came as a surprise to Chisler, who said that “a year ago if you asked me if I would get a scholarship for soccer I probably would’ve said no, just because I like to prepare myself for the worst.”
Chisler is planning on majoring in sports management with a double-major in marketing by sophomore year. As far as her future in soccer, she said “hopefully I enjoy the next four years and if possible then play at the next level.”
Harris, on the other hand, received an academic scholarship to the Stevens Institute of Technology, a student-centric, technological research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Harris will be playing on their Division III soccer team, but her scholarship was non-athletic and “strictly merit-based.”
The scholarship is “partially for engineering and partially through other financial means.” Harris plans on studying engineering, but is currently an undecided engineering major. She sees this scholarship as “a great opportunity to get a higher level education and pursue further things in life.”
As far as soccer goes, Harris doesn’t plan on playing professionally. “I just want to play through college,” she said.
When it came time for the celebratory ceremony at school, Chisler was hesitant, because she thought it would be weird. However, a teacher convinced her that “it’s not just for myself, it’s for the teachers who helped me get this far, and my friends, and my teammates, and my coaches, so it’s more for them than it is for me.”
“I felt very supported,” added Harris. “I spent the last four years with them [her teammates] so for them to be there was very special.”
While Harris and Chisler will be pursuing different goals in college, they both were able to set up futures for themselves that include both education and the sport they love, which is really the dream of any student athlete.
