Warming up to Pocatello

More News Dad, son charged in scheme State clears Bingham vote Jobless hike tied to weather Sex offender seeks release Trial set in choking case Wine area seeks recognition Brucellosis found in Montana Prairie dogs dog builders Boise eyes streetcars Mars lander gets work Astronauts wrap up work Bush begins Europe trip U.S. calls in Iraq airstrike Saudis call for oil talks Iran opposes US-Iraq deal G-8 mulls oil strategy Sports Crash course: pole vault Cow cutting kicks off rodeo ISU women ink recruit

POCATELLO - Valerie Espinosa was ready to go to college at Northern Arizona University on a tennis scholarship when she learned the school was no longer accepting international students.

But the college contacted the tennis coach at Idaho State University.

After waiting to hear from NAU, Espinosa got a phone call from Pocatello.

On the other end of the line was ISU's tennis coach, who asked, ''How do you feel about coming to Pocatello, Idaho?''

Espinosa, now in her senior year at ISU, remembers thinking, ''I've never heard of the place.''

But with an offer to study in the United States on a full scholarship, the Panama native seized the opportunity to study in a new environment.

The daughter of a tennis coach, she has played since she was 3. Espinosa was looking forward to following in the footsteps of her older sister who was on a tennis scholarship at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis.

''That's what I'm supposed to do,'' she thought when applying to colleges.

Adapting to the new environment in Pocatello was another story. The 21-year-old finance major recalls, ''I called home a lot. I missed the food, the beaches, the palm trees and the warm weather.''

Gradually, Espinosa grew to like Pocatello. She skied for the first time, she won player of the year her freshman year and she found a boyfriend - an ISU student from Sandpoint.

Her boyfriend, Christian, has visited her family in Panama, and she was happy he was able to see her home country with its skyscrapers and large shopping malls.

Now, after three years of living in Idaho, she thinks she could settle down in the state - perhaps not in Pocatello, but certainly in a bigger city like Boise.

As for her career plans, the lifelong tennis player says she has never considered becoming a professional athlete.

Instead, she would like to work at a bank or become a financial adviser, once she has completed her studies.

She spends her summers taking classes at ISU and playing in tennis tournaments at Pocatello and Boise.

After following in the path of her older sister, Valerie's younger sisters are now following her lead. Her younger sister is now on a tennis scholarship at Morehead State University in Kentucky, and her youngest sister, who is still in high school at Panama, hopes to play tennis at Stanford University.

Current Rating: 0 of 0 votes!

Rate File: Select Rating: * ** *** ****

Reader Comments

Submit a Comment

Commenting Rules

Report a Comment