Grace Quiah '21 Recruiting Profile

When I was younger, I always knew that I wanted to attend college after high school. It has been my wish ever since. My potential journey into the rectangular walls of college will be marked by several experiences and events ranging from my childhood, adapting to life in America, and my plans for the future.  

Naturally, I love sports. I take soccer seriously. I am a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, a Portuguese world-renowned soccer superstar,  and a Manchester United fanatic. In fact, I started playing soccer when I was either four or five-year-old. My older brother used to spank me for playing soccer on the premise that God invented soccer for boys. However, I did not stop pursuing my passion.  When I turned ten I began to be very athletic, but many people at my high school did not recognize that rapid development; however, others did. For instance, people in my community, the neighboring schools, and other places. I even began to be well known in my community for playing girls' soccer.  I also played kickball for school teams, soccer for various areas, and district teams. I can confidently say that I was one of the best and few girl athletes in my community.  With all that, I did not play for my school team because I wanted to focus on my school lessons. I did not wish to be known in my school for  ‘there comes the girl that plays soccer.’ Instead, I pursued other interesting activities. I took my academic activities seriously. I made sure that I was ranked among the top 3 students in my class; I tutored my little brother and other children in the neighborhood and then helped my older brother with his tutoring program. 

I literally spent much of my childhood pursuing activities that made me happy. Furthermore, when I turned 13, I was about to be signed by one of the best girl’s soccer teams, but fortunately, I and my family traveled to the United States. Nevertheless, I still did not let my travel to America stop me from following and pursuing my passion. I even added three additional sports - track and field, badminton, and basketball to my two favorite sports: soccer and kickball. 

In 2017 I came to the United States. I was almost 14-year-old. The moment I arrived, I felt excited and overwhelmed by the people, climate, and culture. As such,  I was also excited about the fact that America is a land of opportunities.  Meanwhile, when I turned 14, I was enrolled at John Bartram high school. It was a new learning environment. I saw new faces while walking down the hallway each day. People also stared at me because I looked unfamiliar. However, I made new friends and eventually joined a summer program at Harcum college called Upward-Bound. There I felt at home, there we are like a family, and there I learned and realized that life is full of many interests, values, and hobbies. My first summer with HCUB was the greatest experience I have ever had. We read different kinds of books. When I got through reading them I recognized that life can be uncommon. HCUB prepares you for everything you need to know about college. In all fairness, adapting to life in America was challenging and fun. 

When I think about the future, I see myself playing professional soccer. When I feel like giving up,  I will always think about the people that got me to where I am. For example,  my family, friends, teachers, and Upward-Bound. They are the ones who keep me going. And when I graduate from college they will be the ones most happy and proud of me. Moreover, though I experienced social anxiety and fear as a result of bullying during my freshman year in high school, I kept going and did not let it bring me down, nor did I allow it to make me take the wrong path. 

Finally, professional women's soccer is my passion and my major in college will be Liberal Arts.  When I get accepted into a college, I am not just going there for myself, I will be going there because I choose to with the help of great supporters. I choose liberal arts because I am creative, I want to communicate well. I love collaboration and working in teams and I want to be amazing at critical thinking. I believe that I am on the right path to college and I will make sure that I go there and succeed to make the people who got me there proud and happy for me.