When Coach Silviu Tanasoiu came to speak to the Rose Scholars at the Rose Café, I immediately noticed his presence and attitude about his talk. He started by explaining how honored he was to have been asked to speak to us and was eager to share his story along with advice. Coach Tanasoiu worked hard in Romania to get to the point where he is today. He explains that once he got the opportunity to play tennis, he committed his whole self to it. Tanasoiu stressed how vital his parents’ support was to his career and speaks about the sacrifices they made to help him move further. One anecdote he told us was about a time his dad sold his prized car in order to afford a plane ticket to play tennis at a well-known tournament in Miami, Florida. He thanks his parents for his position today and hopes to instill the same determination and motivation into his players.

As a Cornell student, academic life is difficult as is. I can’t imagine having to play a sport on top of all the extra curriculars and classes I’m currently involved this. This talk proved that college athletes really need to have strong time management skills in order to handle all different aspects of their schedule. I have friends who are involved in athletics here and they seem to run on a strict schedule to accommodate their practices and games while also maintaining their grades and staying healthy. We all could learn a lot from the life of an athlete, and Coach Tansoiu showed us a glimpse of that!