Her Campus: Can you please state your first and last name and also your year
Bryan Abunaw: My name is Bryan Abunaw and I’m a junior here at Pace University
Abdul Lawal: My name is Abdul Lawal and I’m also a junior.HC: How many years of experience do you guys have playing soccer?
AL: I can’t give you a specific time frame but I’ve been watching soccer ever since I was a kid and that got me interested in the sport
BA: I’ve been playing soccer ever since I was four years old. Just like Abdul, I’ve been watching it ever since I was a kid too.
HC: What attracted you to the sport in the first place?
BA: For me, I grew up in a very soccer dominated area. I grew up in London and everywhere I went people were playing soccer. Where I lived in Liverpool, I was 20 minutes away from Anfield. My dad played soccer in college and my mother played soccer in high school so I just grew up around it.
AL: I can relate to Bryan. I also grew up around soccer. All my friends played soccer and so did my dad. I remember the moment I fell in love with soccer. I was watching the game it was Manchester United vs Chelsea. That was the game that made me fall in love with soccer.
HC: What skills have you taken from this sport?
BA: Teamwork and hard work. In order to have a successful team you need to work together. Soccer is not a one player sport. We all need each other if we want to do well during games.
AL: Playing a team sport, you need trust each other. You need to have a good relationship with your teammates which is really important.
HC: How have you been able to balance college life and soccer?
BA: Honestly, it’s been tough. Especially trying to balance college life while also going to practices at 9pm and coming back home at 11pm just to try and do homework. It gave me a sense of time awareness and time management. It made me aware that I couldn’t be able to play soccer unless my grades were up. It motivated me to do better so I could continue to play soccer since it is something I love.
AL: For me, I believe if you love something, you will make time for it. So I would make sure I did my work so I could continue to play soccer.
HC: Do you have an on campus job or job in general? If so, how do you balance that and being a student athlete?
BA: I work at the prestigious Kessel here at Pace University and also at Playa bowl in town. I always manage to find time because I’ve managed to develop time management. I’m a commuter so in between my gaps i make sure I am not clowning around. Cause you know work hard as much as you play hard.
AL: Alright so, I work at CSO which is basically a school IT program. Balancing it out, like I said if you love something you’ll make time for it.
HC: Has being on a team brought you two together?
BA: Yes.Yes it brought us together because I love this man. We got really close because we met at a social gathering. I was wearing a soccer jersey and he said that they had a team and i said lets go to practice. Because of the soccer team i have gotten to trust a lot of people. So if Abdul ever needs something that i can give him then i will. He is my mans you know.
AL: Yea being on the team really helps you trust people, bond with people. Bryan and I are boys. We have a good relationship.
HC: Do you guys think it’s easy or hard to find a relationship like what you guys have?
BA: It’s not easy, like I said you have to trust someone and that’s not easy. When you are in it together and have a goal it’s not easy but it works. We just bonded over the fact that we love the game. It’s not easy, it takes time to get there. To be honest I really appreciate that Abdul and the rest of my team took me in.
AL: It’s not easy. Me and Bryan we have a lot in common. So I guess that’s what made our bonding easier.
HC: What advice would you give to freshmen athletes?
BA: Stay on your grind. If you want your education you need to chase it. If you want to win games, put your heart into it. Put your all into everything that you do, do not give 50% to one thing and 50% to something else. Make sure to put your all into anything. Cause you never know who is watching.
AL: Honestly, don’t let sports come before your education. That’s the main reason you are here, try to balance it and do not let one outweigh the other.
Bryan E. Abunaw is a junior at Pace University in Pleasantville. He majors in Communications with a Specialization in Public Relations and minors in French, Finance, and Special Events Marketing. On top of that he is an international student from Cameroon. (sound familiar freshman??)
Abdul A. Lawal is also a junior at Pace University in Pleasantville. He majors in IT and loves the game as much as he loves his friends and family. He is from Nigeria and with him you can always guarantee to have a good time.
These boys are super funny and friendly. They will always welcome you with open arms, so if you see them on campus don’t forget to say “Hi” they are more friendly than you think!!!