By Sam Crocker
Managing Editor
For Juan Diego Garzon, the commute to Saint Rose is a little further than for most students; his journey to school is 2,711 miles, to be exact. Garzon, the newest member of the men’s soccer coaching staff (and class of 2014 graduate), is a native of Cali, in Western Columbia.
“My city is a happy city,” said Garzon. “We are the world capital for Salsa dancing.”
It is evident to those who spend time with him that there are parts of Cali that are embedded in Garzon himself. He is almost always cheery, and if there is Latin music playing, he will be dancing. “He’s always smiling and making people laugh,” grins Nick Menozzi, a sophomore on the Saint Rose soccer team, when I ask him about Garzon.
His food tastes have failed to adapt to North American styles, too. “There is so much tropical fruit in Columbia, we just eat it all the time.” Garzon and his Columbian housemate, who is also called Juan, still keep to a Latin food timetable, often not cooking dinner until after 9 p.m. “We don’t really eat out, either, because it is expensive in Columbia,” says Juan Felipe.
Another part of Columbia that Juan has not left behind is his love for soccer. “Soccer is everything. You live and breathe soccer in Cali.” It is unsurprising, then, when Garzon confesses his first love for America was the chance to play soccer at college, instead of the education that attracted his parents to send him. “You don’t get the same opportunities for organized soccer at a decent level in Columbia,” muses Garzon.
He started his American college education in the south, at Campbellsville University in Kentucky to study English as his second language, before moving to Lambuth University in Tennessee to play soccer and study business.
However, after two years, the men’s soccer program collapsed and Garzon was forced to move again, this time to Bethel University, Tennessee. After one year at Bethel, he received an invitation from a former teammate, Irishman Alan McCann, to join Saint Rose, where Garzon earned All-Conference honors in his senior year for the Golden Knights.
Garzon’s favorite part of studying in the U.S. has been the wide range of people he has met. “I could literally go anywhere in the world and have somebody open their door to me,” he proudly proclaims. The diversity of people who Juan has met from his soccer experiences in America is something that he would have never experienced in Columbia. However, his experiences of the people haven’t been all positive.
“Even compared to the South, the people in the Northeast are much colder,” says Garzon. “Everyone says hello to each other elsewhere. Here, they just stare at you.” Pablo Lajeunesse, a fellow member of the Saint Rose soccer team who also lived in the South, agrees with Garzon but also thinks that Americans from the South were more racist and offensive, too.
He isn’t afraid to admit that Albany was hard to adjust to. His other schools had been in rural communities, and being plunged into the center of a city was a shock for Garzon. But there are benefits to being in a city, too. “At my other schools, I couldn’t get Columbian food; here I can!” he says with a grin.
After graduation, Stephen Hogan, head coach of the men’s soccer team, invited Garzon to be an assistant coach for the Golden Knights. He gladly accepted and helped the team last season. “Coach Hogan has helped me a lot. I like this team, I like the city and I like the coach,” says Garzon. He has been working to recruit new talent to help the team improve for next season and is considering scouting players from back in Columbia.
Garzon also has hopes to continue his soccer career and is working back to full fitness so he can go on trial with professional soccer teams. He has been hampered throughout his college career with knee injuries- he won the award for most time spent in the ice bath at the Golden Knights Awards last year- but feels he still has the potential to make it to the pros. “I think I still have a couple of years to play,” says Garzon.
However, like many international students, Garzon’s career plans can’t be solidified yet because he has yet to gain citizenship. “It’s funny how you get talented people from all around the world coming to America to get their education, and then they are forced back to their own countries to make a difference there. It’s almost as if they don’t want us,” he laughs.
He says that instead of having one year after graduation to find work, students should be given two or three to properly show American companies what they can do.
For now though, Garzon seems as happy as ever to enjoy what he is doing. The tall Columbian’s path so far emulates his native city’s dancing techniques – he never stops moving, and he never stops smiling.