Omario rosen '17 Recruiting Profile

Omario Rosen

Personal Statement

“Promise me you will follow your dream.” These are the words my mother has said to me my whole life. And she made many sacrifices for me to follow my dreams. Two years ago my mother and I moved from Jamaica to Brooklyn, New York. We came for educational opportunities I did not have in Jamaica. Life in Jamaica was hard because my community consisted of severe violence. It was a disaster for the people who lived in the community because at night they would get robbed coming home from work. I felt like I could not live in this community anymore if I was going to reach my full potential. I knew I had to get out to be able to come back and be someone others could look up to.

When I started school in New York it was a bit hard at first. I knew I wanted to be a professional soccer player and a role model for my community, but to do that I first needed to have a stable foundation, which meant that I needed to obtain a good education. Therefore, for the first year of high school I chose not to play soccer and I focused on my school work. After that, I felt I had a well enough foundation to start building my soccer career, so for the years that followed, I vigorously participated in soccer tournaments and clubs. Last year my school’s team was undefeated all season until semifinals. This year I am the team captain and my team is currently undefeated this season.

Throughout my life I have always been passionate about playing soccer because it brings people together. Soccer plays a big role in my community in Jamaica and in my family. Becoming a successful professional soccer player would allow me to financially assist my cousins who lost their mother (my aunt) at a young age to a senseless shooting. Further, I would also love to give back to my community where I started playing soccer in when I was 5 years old. No one from my area has ever made it professionally, so that is an achievement I would like to accomplishment to show everyone that anything is possible as long as you work hard and believe.

I am passionate about going to college because I will be the first person from my family to attend. College would be a great thing in my life. I promised my mom that I would follow my dreams and do what I love. And I will not just for me, but also to make her proud.