1. Why did you decide to sign with Vanier College?

I decided to sign with Vanier College based on the outstanding football program, and opportunity to excel in my studies. With such a high number of kids attending university after they’re finished at Vanier, I knew it was the right choice. With the excellent coaching and training program, I knew that if I chose Vanier, they would help me become the best player I could potentially be. I went down to Vanier on April 13th, 2012 for a practice, and all the players and coaches greeted me in such a friendly manner, it was hard to say no to Vanier College. The facilities were awesome, the coaching was awesome, and you can just tell that you were in a championship atmosphere at Vanier. I knew that this would be my new team, school, and a place I could call “home”.

2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?

The excitement about becoming a student-athlete is just endless. Attending a school with the exact program you want is ideal, but the fact that the football program at Vanier College is also top notch was like music to my ears. I’m not only studying what I love (media arts), but also doing what I love, by playing football.

3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?

To all athletes that are looking to be recruited, DO NOT GIVE UP! I started playing football 3 years ago, and one of my coaches told me “you’ll never go anywhere with football. You should just quit while you’re ahead”. Well sure enough, I proved him wrong. Nothing comes easy though, you’re gonna get back whatever you put into a situation. Keep yourself in the weight room a lot, watch a lot of film, and always stay focused on and off the field. I would also suggest to make a highlight tape, as it will really help in the whole recruiting process and it will also help you get your name out there to lots of coaches.

4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?

I would say I definitely have more than just one big influence on playing football. First off, my ex-girlfriend of 4 years, Alessia Morisani who recently passed away on October 2011 in a car accident is one of my biggest influences. After my first season of football, I just wasn’t happy with my play. I didn’t know the game as well as the others did around me, so I wanted to quit. Alessia always told me “I believe in you. You’re such a determined person, you can do whatever you put your head to. You’re gonna go where you want to go in football, I promise.” Therefore, I did a lot of training in the off-season and once I came back to play, my game was improved. Vanier College is where I wanted to go, and sure enough after the passing of Alessia, is when I got in contact with Vanier College. She was right, I got where I wanted to go because of how determined I was, and no matter what criticism I heard, I never gave up because I knew I could do it. She was always my biggest fan, influence, and motivator. Before every game I say a prayer to her, and I know she’s there in spirit. There’s no bigger influence than Alessia for me.

Another influence is my family and friends. Without my family and friends staying behind me and believing in me, it would definitely be harder to be as passionate as I am about the game. Everything I do, whether it’s going to visit schools in the U.S. or Quebec, or even things as simple as getting to football practice or football games, I can always count on my parents to have my back and help me with what I want to do. I definitely couldn’t do it without my parents.

5. What would you like to accomplish during college sports career?

During my college sports career I would like to accomplish many things. I would like to become a better student, become stronger in the weight room, become better technically, and also become smarter on the field. I feel that attending Vanier College will help me accomplish all of that. After my 2 years at Vanier College, I would like to go to the NCAA and play some Division 1 football. With all the experience and knowledge I take from my coaching staff, combined with my determination and never quit attitude that I take from myself, this goal is very achievable.

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School:

• Leland Stanford Junior University
• Location: Palo Alto, CA
• Established 1891
• Private University
• Undergrad Enrollment: 6,988
• Graduate School Enrollment: 12,957
• Mascot: Cardinal
• Interesting Fact: The first student at Stanford University in 1891, when it was established, was former President Herbert Hoover.
• Click Here to Visit Stanford’s Website

Athletics

Stanford participates in D-1 NCAA sports and is one of the well-rounded schools in terms of Excellency in all college sports. Cardinal sports teams have won a total of 116 National Championships and 102 of which are NCAA National Championships, falling behind only UCLA in total. For the past 17 years Stanford has won the D-1 NACDA Director’s Cup for being the college with the most success in collegiate athletics. Stanford athletes have also been very well represented in the Olympics as 47 student-athletes were sent to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Stanford’s mascot went from being the Indians in 1930 to the Cardinals for a long period of time until 1981 when the school felt the need to represent their school color instead of a bird. However, at sport events fans interact with their mascot “The Tree” which is the same redwood tree that is on the school seal (pictured above). The Tree is representative of the redwood trees present in Northern California.

Stanford’s biggest rival is Northern California opponent University of California, Berkeley Bears. Every year the two teams square off in what is called “The Big Game” in which the teams compete for “The Axe”. Stanford won the most recent Big Game at home. This year Stanford has the 4^th ranked football team in the nation, as the Cardinal will finish off their season in a BCS bowl. They are set to battle 3^rd ranked Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl to be held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 2^nd, 2012. Stanford will be rallying behind their tough defense and Heisman Award runner-up, Junior QB Andrew Luck, to carry them over Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense. Luck projects to be the 1^st overall draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Academics:

Stanford is one of the better academic schools in all of America as some consider it the Ivy League school of the West Coast. Forbes ranks the school as 5^th in the nation. The school is classified as one of the more selective schools as it has one of the lowest acceptance rates of colleges throughout the country. Most recently, Stanford Admissions accepted a total of 7% of its applicants to attend the university. The student to faculty ratio is 6:1, which suggests that classes are smaller than in most universities and that students are able to receive more individual attention from instructors.

Top Major Fields:

• Social Sciences: 21%
• Interdisciplinary Studies: 16%
• Engineering: 15%

Stanford Alums have been credited to create what is now called the Silicon Valley of Northern California. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, NVIDIA, MIPS Technologies, Google, Yahoo!, Nike, Gap, and Sun Microsystems were all started by Stanford Alumni and most are critical to the Silicon Valley today.

Student Life:

Around 89 percent of students live on Stanford’s campus because First Year students are all required to live on-campus while the entire student body is guaranteed housing for four years. Housing around campus is quite diverse as there are fraternity houses, sorority houses, all-freshman dormitories, four-class housing, theme-based housing, and even gender-neutral housing as of 2008. Stanford’s Greek Life hosts about 13% of its undergrad students. There are 13 sororities on campus and 16 fraternities. About ten of the Greek orgs of Stanford have their own houses and nine of which are university-owned houses on Stanford’s Greek Row.

Stanford University has many campus traditions that are passed down to new students every year. From the “Full Moon on the Quad” where seniors and freshmen gather to exchange kisses, and the Primal Scream heard in the late hours close to midnight as students release their stress in the week leading to Finals week, to the “Birthday Showers” given to students on their birthday when the clock hits midnight and the student is thrown in the shower; Stanford’s many traditions stand strong through the years.

Not too far from Stanford are San Jose (20 miles) and San Francisco (37 miles). The proximity of Stanford to these two towns gives students options when it comes to getting away from campus to enjoy what the Bay Area has to offer. Students can enjoy professional sports in the area by checking out teams such as the San Francisco Giants (MLB), San Francisco 49ers (NFL), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Oakland Raiders (NFL), Oakland Athletics (MLB), and the Golden State Warriors (NBA).