Buff & Blue Forever: Sandro Weber
5/2/2022 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
A midfielder hailing from Ettlingen, Germany, Sandro Weber played three seasons as a graduate student with GW men's soccer in which he tallied 15 points via six goals and three assists and was twice named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team.
Weber earned his master's in Sport Management last May before adding a Quantitative Business Studies graduate certificate in the fall, and he has now returned to his home country where he's working in sport sponsorship at Intelligent Research in Sponsoring (IRIS). Here, he takes a look back in the first installment of our Buff & Blue Forever series.
Not long ago, I did not even dare to dream about studying abroad.
Growing up in a small village in Germany, I was always close to family and friends. It was hard to imagine leaving them behind.
Of course, I had concerns about what it would be like to move across the world into a foreign-speaking country where I didn’t know anyone.
Let me tell you, it was the easiest transition for me. From my very first day as a member of the GW men’s soccer program, my teammates, classmates and everyone else at the university made me feel at home, and those people quickly turned into my family away from home.
As a student-athlete, you’re often required to live in the moment. There’s not much time for thinking ahead or reflection.
Now, five months after my last day as a student-athlete for GW, I’m in the fortunate position to look back on my experience with some distance and truly understand the impact those two and a half years in D.C. have had on me and will continue to have on the rest of my life.
One of my biggest takeaways is how fine the line between success and defeat can be. Last spring, I experienced the biggest win and the most heart-breaking loss during my time at GW during the same weekend.
I’ll never forget the joy of winning the A-10 semifinal after I’d scored the only goal in a 1-0 defeat of Dayton on their home field, and I’ll never forget the disappointment of losing the final two days later and coming so close to a spot in the NCAA Championship.
Beyond that rollercoaster of emotions at the finish, what has stuck with me from that season are all the memorable moments along the way to the A-10 final and the brotherhood within our team.
This bond with my teammates reached far beyond the soccer field. From incredibly fun away trips, to exploring every last corner of D.C., to traveling the country last summer and visiting places that are absolutely unique on this planet, I have made incredible memories that never would have seemed possible even a few years ago.
Looking back, I am proud of the way the whole experience has helped me grow.
You are put into so many unique situations as a student-athlete in the World’s Most Powerful City. You get to meet people from every part of the world, learn with every academic challenge, compete on the highest stage of your sport and develop as a person to find balance amid it all.
Going forward, I will always be able to rely on the strength, leadership and confidence built from being part of that environment. Speaking from my five months of experience, it is a huge advantage over everyone else in the professional world.
No words can express how thankful I am to the people who have made this possible for me.
My coaches changed my life by offering me this opportunity, my teammates welcomed me as a brother and made it an incredibly fun time and the GW Athletics staff provided an amazing support system that helped me so much.
Above all, I have to thank my family who encouraged me to chase my dreams across the globe and have continued to be there for me every step of the way on this journey.
Without a doubt, I would have loved to stay here longer. I’d sign up to do it all over again in a second.
But now that it’s over, I know GW and all the people that I met here are locked into my heart, and I think that is the true treasure that I’m taking with me into the future.
Raise High,
Sandro Weber