Luis Ceballos-Medina '21 Recruiting Profile

There has been many situations in my life that have influenced me to become the person I am today. I come from a single parent family. It has been hard growing up without a father. I come from a Hispanic culture where finishing high school or school in general is uncommon, yet alone even going to college. Chasing a dream can be difficult, but my mother has shown me how to make dreams come to a reality. Dreams are stories waiting to be told. My mother’s struggle is a huge influence on me. It pushes me to want to attend college and play the sport I love there as well.

Soccer has been watched and played in my family for generations. My grandfather watched soccer who then taught my mother to play. My mother then showed me what soccer was. I remember watching my first soccer game with my mom. When I saw twenty two players making artwork with their feet, I could not believe it was possible to love something immediately. Soon, my mother put me on a team in which she was the coach just so I could play. I was still a young child. I knew at that moment soccer had become apart of me. A dormant part of me had come alive. 

Playing soccer has brought the best out of me. I have seen the happiness it brings me when playing. I have learned that soccer is what motivates me everyday. Soccer has also made me a better person in general. It keeps my drive of being the first in my family to graduate from college and pursue a professional career God willing. 

Some of my academic goals that I am pushing for is to graduate with an advanced diploma and graduate with at least a 3.2 GPA or higher in high school. I have incorporated some of my college goals early in high school by taking college credit classes to advance my college career. As for college, I want to graduate with grades no lower than B’s but I prefer to graduate as a straight A student. Another thing is that I would like to study aerospace science. Then finally, graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Aviation. 

I think like any teenager the peer pressure and influence makes us all fall, but I think it is the support and love one has from family that fuels one to get up and to continue pursuing their dream. My mother could not afford travel soccer for me. I had to earn a scholarship in order to play and join a travel team. I possess some traits that not many can say they have. I always continue on trying even when I know things are rough or nobody else wants to try. I see myself as someone who is always encouraging and will push anyone to be the best they can possibly be. I have already learned early that life is hard but not over. My love for soccer has helped me overcome situations and has also helped me show what soccer has made me become. No matter how hard or bumpy the road may get, I am always up for the challenge.