The international break just ended and club football has returned.

The international break is when leagues take a break to let international teams play world cup qualifiers, friendlies, etc. This break causes many fans to be angry, as it takes time away from club competitions and they see the matches as unecessary.

But not every fan looks at these games with the same viewpoint. Often times, these games are vital for some countries. With the 2018 World Cup in Russia getting closer, international teams are fighting to secure a spot in this tournament. For fans of smaller nations, these games mean everything to them. Qualifying for a World Cup could be so important to that nation and often times can help bring the nation together.

Premier League fans are often the angriest with the international break, seeing it as boring and unnecessary. They argue that it’s just time taken away from club competition, which in their eyes is much more entertaining than the international fixtures. Even Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was quoted saying:

“…But mid-season friendly matches mixed with qualification matches, I don’t think that makes sense,” (Independent). But what most fans and managers fail to realize is that these games can be just as entertaining as club matches. Smaller nations all across the world who just want a chance to play in the World Cup are fighting their way through qualification matches. For the bigger and more popular nations in Europe, these qualifiers don’t really mean much to them. But for smaller nations in Europe, South America and even Asia, these qualifiers mean absolutely everything to them. Especially in South America, fans go crazy for international qualifiers, showing that it seems to mean more for the South American countries than the European countries.

Even in Europe and Asia, smaller nations such as Iceland, Bosnia, Herzegovina and even Montenegro are fighting to prove they can compete with the giants on the international level. Iceland shocked the world when they qualified for the Euro 2016 tournament and made a run all the way to the quarter finals. Now, the team is trying to shock the world once again by qualifying for next year’s World Cup.

Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for their first ever World Cup back in 2014. This accomplishment meant so much to the entire balkan nation and their president deemed that day the second most important day, next to their independence. Now, they’re trying to qualify for Russia next year with the mighty support of their fans.

Even Syria looks to qualify for their first ever World Cup, as they look to possibly write another football cinderella story. Qualifying for next year’s World Cup would be incredibly important for the country, since the country has suffered so much turmoil in the past few years.

Overall, international qualifiers should not be overlooked. Yes, they take away from the club season, but it’s only for two weeks. And for me, football is football.

We shouldn’t bash these games just because we deem them as boring without even watching them. Maybe we should see how much these games truly mean to some countries.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com

Matchweek three of the MLS (Major League Soccer) and there is plenty to talk about. The 21st season of the MLS has added two new expansion teams: Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC.

But the main team popping up on headlines all over the United States is Atlanta FC because of their impressive form thus far.

After three games, Atlanta has won two, lost one, scored 11 goals in three games and currently has the league’s leading goalscorer Josef Martínez.

Expansion teams in the MLS have a bad history of not achieving much in their inaugural season, but when Atlanta started doing business, MLS fans realized that Atlanta meant business. So why does Atlanta United look like they have been a team in the MLS for years now?

Becoming a franchise team in the MLS is a very long and grueling process, and usually the first season is the toughest. Atlanta United is showing the league that they want to defy expectations, and so far, the organization looks like it’s doing everything right.

First, they hired former Barcelona and Argentina Manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino. The club’s first big statement basically said, “We’re here to play.”

Atlanta started raising more eyebrows when they started making transfers. They brought in players such as Miguel Almirón, Héctor Villalba, Leandro González Pírez and most notably, Josef Martínez. Atlanta looks as if they are trying to break the stereotype that the MLS is not a “retirement league” anymore.

Almirón, Villalba and González Pírez all came from the Argentine Primera División, as they had proven their ability in South America. But Josef Martínez is currently on loan from Torino FC of the Calcio A (Italy’s top flight division), which was a huge move for the club.

At 23 years of age, Martínez has already proven himself as a lethal striker. The Venezuelan currently has five goals in three games, scoring a hat trick against Minnesota United (despite playing in a blizzard) in matchweek two and two goals against the Chicago Fire in matchweek three. He is currently the league’s top scorer, which is a pretty decent feat for an expansion team.

Their offense may be in form right now, but Atlanta’s defense is not getting the love it deserves. Only conceding two goals in three games is showing signs of a strong defense, especially for an expansion team.

The overall squad depth is incredible as well. The team is made up of not just players who’ve transferred here, but homegrown MLS players, drafted college players and other players brought in from other MLS clubs.

For an expansion team, Atlanta United FC is taking the MLS by storm.

Even as a fan of the New England Revolution, it’s great to see expansion teams add some more competition into this league and making it more attractive for fans to watch.

The entire organization looks like it’s heading in all the right directions, and Tata Martino seems to be getting the most out of this team and it’s players.

I really enjoy how much the MLS has progressed in recent years, and I’m very excited to see how this season unfolds and how Atlanta United progresses.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a fan of soccer. I would go out of my way to watch soccer or watch literally any game that was on TV. About the time when I started high school, I started getting serious about photography.

The first thing I started photographing was soccer. It was one of the few things I loved most in life and my friends wanted pictures of them playing soccer. I have love for both soccer and photography, but very early on, I realized that I would struggle with one peculiar aspect: How do I enjoy watching the game, but also take pictures at the same time?

James Wichert/ Contributing photo

When I first dealt with this, I was unsure of how to handle it. I wanted to celebrate when the team scored or yell in disgust when a wrong call was made.

I had to resist every urge in my body to jump up and celebrate whenever the team scored. Instead, I just had to sit there and capture these moments. As I started to photograph more, I realized I could turn this struggle and dilemma into something positive. I realized that I could celebrate and photograph these moments at the same time. My celebrations were captured in the photos I took.

My photos were my celebrations and my varying emotions throughout the game. The inner fan in me was being brought to life through the medium of photography. The only struggle I deal with now is what end of the field to be on and whether or not I got the shot.

My friend and fellow photographer James Wichert knows this dilemma all too well. When asked about this dilemma, he said, “The hardest choice of every game is deciding which end you want to shoot at.”

Wichert also added, “The rational part of you wants to go where all the action is, but your inner fan wants to just shoot ‘your team,’ the team that may not be the best, but you want to capture their moments.” Trey Madara, another friend and fellow photographer who has shot several games for the Philadelphia Union of the Major League Soccer and the United States National teams added, “It definitely makes you impartial to who you shoot. For example, I barely shot any of the England team during that game. Same thing for the Copa America Matches.

I spent more time photographing Chile because I had liked them a bit more than the other squads.” James and I have shot several games together and this is all too familiar.

When an incredible goal happens right in front of your eyes, you want jump up in joy and cheer your heart out with your friend.

But instead, we have to get the shot and celebrate after. It’s a weird feeling celebrating after everyone else is done celebrating, but most of the energy from the celebration goes into getting that perfect shot.

On Saturday, March 4, I had the incredible opportunity to shoot the United States Women’s National Soccer Team at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

This dilemma was well and truly present, as I had watched the women’s team play at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Montreal back in June of 2015.

But being so close to some of my favorite players this time was so surreal. As much as I wanted to get autographs and pictures with the players, I had to remain professional, but being able to photograph these players in action was all I needed to remind myself that this is my celebration.

Despite the U.S. losing in the 90th minute and having to stand in frigid temperatures for about six hours, my inner fanboy reminded me that this dilemma should be celebrated, not dwelled upon.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com

For the past couple decades, English Premier League Clubs have been known for having incredible youth academies and producing some incredible players. Chelsea Football Club is one of the many clubs known for producing amazing young players.

Several players have gone on to graduate from the academy and have become great players in Chelsea’s history, notably players such as John Terry, Peter Bonetti, Bobby Tambling, Peter Osgood, Graeme Le Saux, Carlton Cole and so many more.

But now, it seems as if the youth players of Chelsea’s academy today don’t seem to be getting the playing time they deserve. Instead, most players go out on loan and don’t get more than five appearances for the club.

Is it time for Chelsea to rethink the way they run their academy?

Chelsea’s academy and reserve teams have been proving their potential for many years. Since 2012, the reserve’s side has made it to the Football Association (FA) Youth Cup final, showing their dominance in youth competitions.

These players have shown that they are capable enough of playing in the first team and against other premier league teams. Sadly, they really only get their chance to play in the first team in cup games against lower league opponents.

It’s very rare to see academy players get playing time in the league, and when they do, it’s usually about 45 minutes or less. But every time these players have been given a chance to play in the first team, they’ve shown pure brilliance on the field.

The last time an academy graduate made it into the first team and stayed in the first team, it was John Terry on Oct. 28, 1998 in a league cup match against Aston Villa.

Since then, he’s made 488 appearances for the first team and has captained the team since the 2004-2005 season. He’s the academy player from the 21st century who has established himself as a vital player for the club. But now, no first team player has made quite the impact Terry has.  Why is that?

There have been a select few youth players who have made appearances and really have proven that they can play on the first team. Players like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah, Ola Aina, Charly Musonda, Dominic Solanke and Nathan Aké have shown that they have the drive and the playing ability to thrive in the first team. Instead, money and big-name players have seemed to become a priority over youth talent.

Granted, these big-name players have delivered on performances, but this also results in about 40 first team players and youth players being sent out on loan to various teams in England and all around Europe.

In my opinion, as a Chelsea fan, I would like to see my team and other teams in England start relying on their youth talent again, instead of relying on money to draw big-name players to the club.

Big-name players can help the club, but I think it’s time that youth and reserve players get the chances they deserve to help build the future of Chelsea Football Club.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergoiu@kscequinox.com

Within the past years, soccer players all over the world have been making moves to China to play in the Chinese Super League, but the majority of these moves have been met with skepticism and dismay by soccer fans.

It seems as if all, or at least the majority, of these moves have been motivated by copious amounts of money.

The Chinese Super league is trying to make the league one that can compete with the five biggest European leagues: England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga and France’s Ligue 1.

Although it looks like teams in China are buying their fame, spending outrageous amounts of money on players like Graziano Pellè, Carlos Tevez and many more.

For the past few years, players have been making big money moves to China, with the league trying to develop itself into a league that can contest with the big european leagues. But why is all of this happening?

China’s president Xi Jinping is attempting to turn China into a prestigious world football nation by heavily investing in Chinese soccer.

Not only is he accomplishing this by bringing some of the world’s best players into the league, but also investing heavily into the Chinese national soccer team and putting billions of dollars into grassroots soccer with the plan to create 50,000 specialty soccer schools in order to develop more homegrown players.

But there has been much controversy behind a lot of these transfers.

Soccer fans are often upset because these moves look as if the players are wasting their potential and are still in the prime of their career.

Players like Oscar, Jackson Martínez, Hulk and many others have moved to China for what seems like the amount of money they’ll make.

Oscar left Chelsea in January for Shanghai SIPG because he was receiving little playing time and is now making £400,000 a week.

Oscar is now making more money than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi respectively, and was for a small period of time the highest paid player in the world. That was until Carlos Tevez moved to Shanghai Shenhua for a staggering £615,000 a week.

Back in 2010, Tevez was quoted saying, “Football is only about money, and I don’t like it.

There are so many agents with really young footballers…It’s awful, as these young players are not interested in winning titles, they only want money.”

But seven years later, he is the highest paid player in the world. Even managers such as Antonio Conte and Arsene Wenger have voiced their disapproval, saying this amount of money and spending has detrimental effects on leagues and football all around.

Personally, I hate to see players who still are in their prime move to China mainly for the money.

I can understand if players are nearing the end of their career and move to China to play, but it is sad to see players who still have plenty of good years ahead of them move to China and get payed more than they are valued.

Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the Chinese Super League develops in the next few years.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at Lstergiou@kscequinox.com

Nov. 28, 2016 was a very tragic day not only for the world, but for the futbol (soccer) world in particular. VivaColumbia flight FC8170 was en route to Medellín, Colombia, carrying brazilian soccer club Chapecoense–players, managers, training staff and all–on their way to play local team Atlético Nacional in the Copa Sudamericana final. Unfortunately, the flight crashed in Medellín, killing 71 people and leaving only six survivors, three of which were members of Chapecoense.

Chapecoense are not a prolific top flight team in Brazil, but reaching the Copa Sudamericana final was the club’s biggest achievement in their history.

Chapecoense was in the Brasileiro Série D (the Brazilian fourth division) in 2009, and in just five years, they earned several promotions and found themselves in the Brasileiro Série A (the brazilian top division) in 2014.

They were in the middle of a fairy tale season, and after beating San Lorenzo de Almagro in the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana, the entire town of Chapecó was euphoric.

A small club from a small town making the final of a big name tournament was something the entire town of Chapecó could celebrate.

The plane crash affected the entire world of soccer. Fans and clubs all around the world mourned the loss of the members of this team.

Even their opponents Atlético Nacional were incredibly saddened by this tragedy.

They demonstrated pure sportsmanship by proposing the Chapecoense be named the champions of the Copa Sudamericana and by holding a stadium-wide vigil in Medellín to mourn the loss of the team.

Atlético Nacional wasn’t the only club that showed soccer is more than just a sport.

Many players around the world wore black or green armbands to show support for the club.

Some clubs, including Real Madrid of Spain, removed the sponsor on their kits and replaced it with “Força Chape” (“Let’s go Chapecoense” in portuguese) to show support for the team.

It was also reported that Paris Saint Germain (PSG) of France will donate 40 million euros to the club in support, while soccer legends Ronaldinho and Juan Román Riquelme offered to come out of retirement to play for the brazilian club.

Even Edinson Cavani of PSG showed support after taking off his jersey and scoring to reveal an undershirt that read “Fuerza Chape”.

It’s great to see the global soccer community rally together to support and mourn a small town Brazilian club in a sad time.

But unfortunately, this is not the first time an incident like this has occurred in the history of soccer.

In fact, a plane crash killing the majority of a team has happened three times before this instance.

On May 4, 1949, a plane of Avio Linee Italiane was returning from Lisbon, Portugal, carrying the entirety of the Torino Football Club.

It crashed in Turin, Italy, killing 31 people, including every single player on the team. On Feb. 6, 1958, the Munich air disaster occurred.

A plane returning from Belgrade, Serbia, carrying the Manchester United team that had played a European Cup Match against Red Star Belgrade, stopped in Germany to refuel.

After refueling, the plane tried to take off twice, but each chance was aborted due to low visibility.

On the third attempt, the plane unfortunately crashed with 23 people, including players and staff who suffered major injuries.

On April 27, 1993, a plane carrying the Zambia National Soccer team crashed into the Atlantic Ocean less than a mile offshore of Libreville, Gabon.

The team was traveling to Dakar, Senegal, for a World Cup Qualifying Match, and all 30 passengers on the flight were killed.

These unfortunate events show us that the world of soccer brings people together, regardless of what team you support. Supporting a team does not only mean cheering on your club, it means that your community is just as important.

No matter where you are or what team you support, soccer has the power to bring people together. Força Chape.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at Lstergiou@kscequinox.com

All aboard the Christian Pulisic hype train! The 18-year-old American from Hershey, Pennsylvania, has gone from an under-17 prospect player for the United States national soccer team to becoming the next biggest name in American soccer. But the question on every American soccer fan’s mind is: will Christian Pulisic actually be the player we need to revitalize United States soccer or will the media and fans hype him up too much and become the next Freddy Adu?

To understand why Pulisic is such a big-name player for the United States national team, we have to look at his upbringing. He was born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Mark and Kelly Pulisic on Sept. 18, 1998. Mark and Kelly both played soccer at George Mason University, and Mark was also a professional indoor soccer player in the late 1990s.

Growing up, Pulisic was around soccer all his life. In a recent Vice Sports interview, both Mark and Kelly Pulisic mentioned how as a young kid playing soccer, Pulisic would do things that most kids playing soccer would never even dare to try things such as bicycle kicks, step overs, and even making sure what he could do with his strong foot he could do with his weak foot.

Courtney Bethel / Equinox Staff

He eventually got a call up to the United States national youth team where he shined in major tournaments, scoring many goals along the way.  During a Nike international showcase tournament, Pulisic and the United States under-17 national team faced off against Brazil in the final. Pulisic had a stellar performance, scoring a goal and leading his under-17 team to victory. At this tournament, several scouts for big-name european clubs were present, trying to snatch up the next big young star.

Several big name clubs fought to offer Pulisic his first professional contract, and after much deliberation, Pulisic chose Borussia Dortmund, one of the top teams in Germany.

At first, Pulisic had trouble adapting to a new home and lifestyle in Dortmund, Germany. He trained with the youth team, and his father, Mark, took a job as a youth coach. He did not know the language, and he was getting very little playing time with the team, but through hard work and persistence, he got his chance with the youth team.

After finding his footing and scoring regularly with the youth team, manager Thomas Tuchel called Pulisic up to the first team. Ever since that first team call-up, it’s safe to say that 2016 has been an incredible year for Christian Pulisic.

In 2016 alone, he became the youngest non-german player to ever score in the Bundesliga (Germany’s top flight soccer league), and the youngest player to ever score two goals in a Bundesliga season. Later that year, Pulisic earned a call up to the United States Men’s National Team and scored in an international friendly match to become the youngest American player in American history to score for the United States National Team at age 17 years 253 days old. On Sept. 12, 2016, Pulisic became the youngest ever American soccer player to score in World Cup qualifying history at age 17 years 349 days.

Christian Pulisic has certainly provided hope for the future of the United States National Team and hundreds of American soccer fans. He looks like the real deal, the next Landon Donovan or Brian McBride, but in the back of every United States soccer fan’s mind, the question remains: Will Pulisic actually deliver and be the player the United States national team needs, or will the media overhype him, resulting in a fall of irrelevance in a few years?

Personally, I believe that Christian Pulisic will become the next big thing for American soccer. Unlike Freddy Adu or any of the other American soccer players that the media has overhyped over the years, Pulisic has actually gained much more success than any of the other young American prospects. He’s playing first team soccer for Borussia Dortmund, one of the most prolific teams in Germany’s top division, and it looks like he won’t be losing his starting spot any time soon.

Even former United States men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann saw how much potential Pulisic had and gave him a chance. He made the most of that chance and is now a creative team player who can not only score goals and make the most of his chances, but also create chances and assist goals as well.

Even though Jurgen Klinsmann and the United States national team parted ways recently, I have a good feeling that new manager Bruce Arena will be able to create Christian Pulisic into a world-class American player for years to come.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at Lstergiou@kscequinox.com

Recently, the Harvard University Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise announced that the men’s soccer team was cutting their season short. A google document was released that showed a handful of players from the 2012 team sexually discriminating recruits for the Harvard women’s soccer team.

According to the New Yorker, this document was published in Harvard’s student newspaper, The Crimson. The article revealed that a few of players on the men’s soccer team in 2012 rated the recruits for the women’s team on a scale of sexual appeal. The Google document that certain players had created included unnerving descriptions of the physical characteristics of the women and their preferred sexual positions.

Samantha Moore / Art Director

Since the incident had been reported, there has been massive outrage online and on social media, even prompting the six girls who were scouted to write an open letter about the incident.

As someone who has played soccer for the majority of my life and has followed the sport, behavior and actions like this disgust me. It disgusts me even more considering I was brought up to respect women no matter what.

Soccer is a team sport, and like most sports, it brings people together. It creates lifelong bonds and great friendships. Even playing soccer in high school, both the men and women’s teams would socialize and often play together for fun. There was never a sense that the women were inferior to us and the men were superior to the women, but actions like this belittle the beautiful game.

I’ve made some of my closest girl friends through soccer and they are some of my favorite people.I’m glad to say that none of them have ever had to deal with this sexual discrimination.

These friends are some of the strongest girls I know and great players in their own right, but I find it sad that there is still a stigma that male athletes are considered superior to female athletes.

For example, being a soccer fan and a fan of the United States National Team (both men’s and women’s), it is sometimes argued that the men’s team is superior to the women’s team, but the men’s team have yet to win a World Cup whereas the women have won three in the last 17 years.

According to TheFA.com (England’s Football Association), the Women’s World Cup was founded on Nov. 16, 1991, nearly 25 years ago. The FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association)  World Cup was founded in 1930, nearly eighty years ago. Some fans argue that the women’s team has easier opposition, but all of this shows is how far female soccer players and athletes in general have come.

Being a male college student, I unfortunately feel as if there is a stigma and general feeling that the majority of male college athletes feel superior to their women counterparts. It is a shame that the majority of women on college campuses have to deal with harassment and discrimination, whether it’s sexual or verbal, and it’s even more of a shame when female athletes are discriminated because of their gender.

Women should feel safe on college campuses, and especially on their respective sports teams as well. They should never feel like they are inferior or less of an athlete than their male counterparts.

What I find even more unfortunate is the fact that women athletes have come so far in the past half a century and they are still being treated as if they are objects and not people or athletes. They have overcome social norms and shown the world that women athletes are not and will not be inferior to their male counterparts. It’s shameful that these college athletes who want to pursue a career as a professional athlete or even just playing for fun have to deal with this kind of discrimination.

In my opinion, male athletes and young men in general should never discriminate against or treat women like objects.

It infuriates me that I have to witness this as a male college student, but when I say this, I am not saying that all male athletes and young men are like this. I only speak about the slim minority of players and men who possess this manner of thinking.

To the players of the 2012 Harvard men’s soccer team, I say this: you should be very ashamed of yourselves. To all the other men and male athletes who are disgusted by this like I am, I say this: stand up and unite against this type of discrimination and protect your fellow teammates, both male and female.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at Lstergiou@kscequinox.com

A year and a half ago when I officially committed to Keene State and stepped foot on campus, I never thought I would wear the infamous red shirt and khaki shorts and become an orientation leader.

I am a part of the Keene State class of 2019, which was the first incoming class to experience June orientation, which at the time was a brand new component of the orientation program. Going into this part of the program, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I was just a recent high school graduate with my whole life ahead of me, leaving behind what I had known for nineteen years. How was my orientation experience going to pan out? Was I going to make friends easily? Was I going to get along with my roommate? Many thoughts circulated through my mind during those two days in June. That all changed when I met my orientation leader, Kelsey.

She became my first friend at Keene. She immediately took me under her wing, helped me out when I needed it most – basically treated me like a little brother. She was the main reason that I had such a smooth transition into Keene. During this time, I realized how energetic and outgoing everyone else on the orientation staff was. At this time, I thought to myself, “All these leaders are having so much fun. I want to do this.”

Photo by Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer

When orientation ended, the constant questions of, “How do I become an orientation leader?” and “How do I do for other students what Kelsey did for me?” was stuck in the back of my mind. When applications for orientation staff came out, I got my hands on one, filled it out as soon as possible and handed it in just two days after the applications were released. I wanted to do everything I possibly could to ensure I got this position. After the whole interview process a few weeks went buy, and I had finally received the email I was eagerly anticipating for. When I read it, I was not too sure how to feel.

I was given the alternate position. This position basically means you weren’t guaranteed a position at first, but if someone dropped out, an alternate could fill that position. On one hand, I was happy to not be rejected for this position. On the other hand, I was bummed not to get the position from the start. The alternate position meant I spent all spring semester training with all the other selected staff, somewhat doubting myself, unsure of whether or not I would actually get this position. But I put those thoughts behind and focused on doing everything I possibly could to help myself get this position.

As the spring semester was coming to an end, I was growing increasingly anxious as this was the point where alternates would be told whether or not they would be chosen to fill a position. After months of patiently waiting, all my hard work paid off and I was chosen to be an orientation leader. I nearly broke my chair jumping from excitement after receiving the email.

When I returned to Keene in June, I had no idea just how much time and effort it took to be an orientation leader. After many days of training, asking a multitude of questions and functioning on little sleep, it was finally time to start orientation. I now had to become the parental figure, the mentor, the helper, the leader. I had to answer all the student’s questions, I had to constantly check in on them, making sure they are prepared for their first year of college. But no matter how much you do as a first year orientation leader, you will always have doubts. “Am I doing enough?”, “did I tell my students the wrong information?”, “will my students respect me?” But no matter how you think you’re doing, the other staff and coordinators will always support you. I know there were days where I felt like I failed and did not do enough, but there was always another staff member to ensure I was doing just fine.

After a hectic four sessions in June, and an even more stressful and chaotic week in August, orientation was done. I really couldn’t believe it. My first year of being an orientation leader was done. I never thought a program like this could change and sculpt me as a better person. The orientation program molded me into a leader that I never thought I could be. I now have fifty new, amazing friends who I would have never met if it was not for this program. The orientation program is by far the most rewarding experience I have ever been a part of, because of it I now love this school even more, and I am proud of the person and leader I have become.

Luke Stergiou can be contacted at lstergiou@kscequinox.com.