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Personal Statement
My name is Claire Kessenger. I am American but have lived in Barcelona, Spain since the age of 9. I am fluent in English, Spanish, Catalan and conversational in Mandarin (B1 level).
My life revolves around two things: academics and soccer. I am fortunate to love both. In school, I have always been top of my class. I think perhaps my lack of available free time creates the need for a high level of organization and focus. I try to maintain good relationships with my teachers, I focus to understand what needs to be done, I work fast, and turn in my homework ahead of schedule, mainly because I can’t be sure I will have time the night before things are due.
I play soccer and am about to begin my 6th consecutive season for RCD Espanyol, which is one of the most successful youth soccer programs in Spain. As a reference point, we played FCB twice last season and won both matches. The first was won in PKs and I shot and scored the first PK. I have had the honor of being co-captain my last 3 years. I am bi-pedal and therefore play primarily on the left side, left midfielder and left back. My strengths are my decision-making, physicality, speed and work ethic. Our all-girls team is the first female team in Spain to be promoted and play in the Spanish boys first division, but wins are hard to come by!
While soccer is very big in the US and there are more female players, it may be at the center of the culture in Spain. The level is extremely high for both boys and girls. Every girl on our team grew up playing with boys. We train until 11:00 pm, 3 nights a week, door to door around 4 hours. Most kids play every day at recess, train on their own another 1-2 nights, and the weekends are always busy with games and tournaments. The season runs non-stop from late August to late June. Kids watch soccer with their families and argue about soccer at school. Generally speaking in Spain, kids are athletes or students, but not typically both. Many players stop attending school once past the obligatory year (10th grade). Since universities don't have or consider athletics the thought would be, 'what is the point of school if you want to play pro?' I think that in general coaches, parents, players have a vision of the game which is focused on possession, which can be seen from the men's and women's national teams down to youth players.
My top priority is to attend the most academic university available to me, yet allow me to continue developing in soccer so that I may go on to play at a professional level. I know the road to be a professional player is extremely challenging, but I know I will make it. I hope to study math/statistics/business, with the goal of being a big data analyst in business. I love identifying patterns. I enjoy coding with SQL and analyzing data, and I can envision doing this professionally after soccer ends.
I'll be the hardest working student-athlete on your team. If you are looking for a Spanish-style soccer player, who can control possession out of the back and distribute, I am your person.
-Claire Kessenger
