Samuel Colon '19 Recruiting Profile

I got into a lot of trouble as a child. Fortunately, my parents help me to manage my frustrations and help me stay positive. I’m very fortunate to have them both in my life which is why I have no excuse to slack in anything. The growth I have gone through over the years from being a wild, unruly mess that catholic schools despised to the young hispanic man that is well known as an outstanding citizen, always giving back, and brings tears of joy to his mother’s eyes. As a kid, because of my behavior, I bounced from school to school. It was at Roberto Clemente Elementary that I started to grow from being the mess that I once was to the man I am today. During elementary school, there was a kid in my class named Andrew that I did not like because of the image people perceived him to be. He had good grades, teachers loved him, he was athletic, basically everything I was not and I saw opportunity to grow. I admit it. I was jealous and I created this image of myself that I wanted to be based off a petty rivalry. I found myself wanting to learn; learn to be intelligent, learn to be athletic, learn to be loved. This desire to be great was not even noticed by Andrew and knowing that fueled the fire more. There were multiple encounters where I raced him at recess and I felt defeated. Afterwards, I tried harder than the last time, did something new and eventually I beat him. In addition, having the same classes didn’t help either. If he had an 80, I hoped I had a 90 or at least an 85 because I was so driven to beat this boy. Andrew played a crucial role in my life and we were far from friends. In my eyes, he was my rival and I had to be better than him. I remember coming home to my parents crying that he was better than me and that I’d never beat him. The kid worked harder than me and at times I accepted defeat but I never let that stop me because I knew he breathed the same air as I did, went to the same school as I did, had the same classes as I did so there was no reason to lack at all. The growth I have experienced has made me a man with a better mindset and attitude. I am not afraid of defeat and refuse to be beaten by it as success is inevitable in my ongoing life.