Taylor Lupetti (@tayclupetti):
Summer is a time for students to go on vacation and relax after a stressful semester. For the San Jose State women’s volleyball team, it is a time to give back and gain a new perspective on life.
The team traveled to Brazil this summer after months of fundraising for the trip of a lifetime. To raise money, the Spartans held clinics and collaborated with local businesses on special events to ensure the whole team would be able to travel together.
During their 10 days in Brazil, the Spartans met some of their teammates’ families, explored the country and ran a clinic for an underprivileged school in Rio de Janeiro — an experience that will resonate with the team for a long time.
“We did a community service volleyball event where we went to a public school in Brazil which is very different from here because they don’t have a lot of money,” said junior Luiza Andrade, a Brazil native. “We did a free clinic with the students there and it was one of the most amazing things I’ve done in my life.”
Junior Giulia Gavio is one of five women on the team, along with Andrade, that is from Brazil. While helping her team run the clinic, Gavio saw an opportunity to give the kids a better chance at life, hoping her story would help them work harder toward a chance to come to America as well.
“These kids don’t feel like they have any other chances in their lives, like they are going to get stuck there,” Gavio said. “For them to see that we have five Brazilians on the team who were able to come to the United States, study here and play sports, I think it’s just incentive for them to keep playing.”
Traveling to Brazil was the first trip out of the country for senior Jamie Hirai. The clinic showed her how much people can forget to appreciate the little things and it sent her home with a new kind of appreciation.
“In America, we take a lot of things for granted and we forget to be happy and joyful because we are stuck in the routine of things,” Hirai said. “Being there and having them be happy for something so small was the biggest impact for me.”
The day spent at the school in Rio de Janeiro was an unforgettable experience that stood out from the rest of the trip and one that left an impression on players like Andrade.
“The way that they looked at us, it was like we were such amazing people and we were doing something so great for them but I think it was the opposite,” Andrade said. “We were looking at them the exact same way and we all cried. I think everyone realized how good it is to help people and show them how a sport can lead you to something way bigger.”
The clinic was run on the last of the team’s 10 days in Brazil and ended the Spartans’ time there on a bittersweet note. Even after being back in the US for two months, the desire to return to Brazil is still there for the Spartans.
“We definitely want to do this again,” said junior Summer Avery. “At the end of the trip, we didn’t want to leave.”
Since coming home, the Spartans have started their season, but now as a more closely bonded unit thanks to moments like that spent at the school.
