Junior Cassie Giardina is a starting center midfielder on the women's soccer team. Coming off of an injury that kept her out of the line-up last season, she has started in all 12 games totaling one goal and an assist.

While at Worcester State, Giardina has had the opportunity to do extensive traveling with trips to Nicaragua and Tanzania. This upcoming spring semester, she will participate in WSU's study abroad program with a four-month stay in Costa Rica.

We sat down with Giardina to talk about her experiences on the women's soccer team and to each of the places she's been to.

What's your hometown and what are you majoring in? 

I am from Pittsfield, Massachusetts and majoring in sociology with minors in Spanish and Public Health

Why did you decide to come to school at Worcester State?

Well I came to Worcester State to play soccer, of course (laughs). I wanted to go to a smaller school in a city and WSU was exactly that. It was also a good distance from home and I liked the campus. 

 
What is your favorite team memory?

After we played so well during the season of my freshman year, hosting the MASCAC Women's Soccer Championship game that year was my favorite team memory. It was a crazy, intense atmosphere, under the lights (at Coughlin Field) and our team was really into the game. Despite the fact that we did lose (1-0 to Westfield State), it was a great experience to be apart of.

How did you get the chance to travel to Nicaragua this past spring semester?

 During the spring semester of my freshman year, I took a Nicaraguan history class where the class had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua. I was able to do this during Spring break of my sophomore year. I thought it was a cool thing to do and it was an opportunity to practice my Spanish.

While I was down there for the week that I spent, I was able to get a sense of community in a third-world country. I was able to see how important things like family and the culture are for people who don't have some of the same luxuries that we have like iPhones or cars. 

You mentioned to me that you went to Tanzania during the summer too? Tell me a little bit about that experience.

I enjoyed my experience so much with my trip that I asked my advisor, Sonya Conner, about the program. She told me about it and then mentioned that she was organizing a group trip during the summer to Tanzania, which I also became interested in.

For three weeks during the summer, I went to Africa and I learned a lot about the culture in Tanzania. One of the two professors with us was from the area and we traveled with a family member, so I was able to learn a lot more about the traditions and culture from that experience.

Going to Tanzania really helped me realize so much more about the people who live in that country. People seemed to enjoy life, not for everything they had, but for the simple reason for waking up in the morning. There were children everywhere with water jugs on their heads because they have to walk a long distance just to get clean water. They appreciated life with their family and freinds, without the technology.

With all this traveling you've done, what is it that you want to do in the future?

Originally I had been a nursing major because I wanted to help people, but after taking classes and with this experience, I changed it to sociology because its more in line with what I want to do.

I am thinking of joining the Peace Corps when I graduate because I want to do more traveling and I am thinking of participating in the International Development, Community and Environment Masters program at Clark University. The program allows you to use experience in the Peace Corps as credit towards the degree.

I am finally going to have the opportunity to spend four months with the study abroad program going to Costa Rica. I wanted to continue to practice my Spanish and go to a developing country that is less industrialized than our own in Central America. I also like being outdoors and I am very much looking forward to checking out the scenery.