Diego Vita '24 Recruiting Profile

Diego Vita

Personal Statement

My greatest passion has led to the changes I have experienced in my life. At the age of 12, I left the comfort of home to CDMX to begin pursuing the dream of playing soccer while studying. Yet, the reality of the corruption of the game--seeing how teammates paid for their playing time while I couldn’t do something about it—made me question if I was in the right place. At the age of 14, I came to the United States to continue the pursuit of my soccer and academic career. It was a decision that came with sacrifice and ended in developing my independence and maturity.

I was far from home again, in a different country, without my family, immersed in a language I didn’t know, and I couldn’t help but feel lost. A mixture of stress factors pervaded my head each day: I sat in class not understanding anything my teachers and peers told me, I worried about how to manage financially, as my living arrangement wasn’t stable, and, meanwhile, I struggled playing with my new soccer club because of technicalities. At times, I felt like giving up, returning to Mexico and the comfort of my family, but I decided to stay and take the challenge.

My daily routine was strenuous waking up at 5 am daily, managing my time for extra classes, interventions, cooking, doing homework, and practicing soccer each night till 11 pm. It was hard but having a routine and doing it consistently, improved my language, physique, ability to play, and grades. I felt satisfied with my progress. But my personal situation wasn’t working out; I was short on money and always hungry. I decided to start selling cheesecakes at school to earn money so my parents didn’t have to worry or know what I was going through. Did I mention my aunt kept the money they sent and would only feed me leftovers? It was hard, but I had to do something for myself. I didn’t know how to bake, but I looked for recipes. I baked and earned money for food, school supplies, and a treatment I needed for my liver. I began to feel more self-sufficient, as I grew tired of feeling belittled and excluded. I decided to leave that house.

I started to ask for my aunt’s help to continue attending my school where I could play soccer at a higher level, and it proved to be difficult because of transportation. As a car or bus were not an option, I walked to school every day, arriving sweaty with my shoes covered in dirt.

Living in a different environment helped, and it reflected in my work and in soccer. I even got called to train with the RGV FC professional team, which was like a dream because it was what I was working for. At 16 I felt things were falling into place, and hearing my parents proud and happy for me, I felt satisfaction and pride. And then I got hurt, and it messed with me both physically and mentally. I thought my dreams of playing soccer at a collegiate level were over. I was afraid to play, to get injured again, and lost confidence in myself, but I kept working to get better. I had to overcome my own insecurities. It took a lot of dedication and pressure to complete my physical therapy to be able to get back on the field. I even think that walking to school in crutches with two backpacks strapped to my back helped my recovery; it was just another road to cross, another moment to build character.

My life has definitely not been easy, but I know each sacrifice will be worth it in the end. Now that I see it from another perspective, I am grateful I did not give up chasing my dream and my goals.