莱斯利星期一terrosa '24: A Path To What Really Matters

莱斯利星期一terrosa '24 decided to come to 埃尔迈拉大学 after a surprising phone call from Cody Griswold, 男子和女子摔跤的总教练. 她没打算上大学, but his persistence and the college's ability to meet her needs won her over.

"If you ask any of the girls on the team why they are here, they will say, 'coach,'" she said.

Monterrosa is from Gardina, California, just outside of Los Angeles. Raised by a single mother and one of five siblings, she spent part of her young life living between Gardina and Nezahualcoyotl, 墨西哥, 墨西哥城附近. She was born with progressive hearing loss, but that went undiscovered until she was in sixth grade. 她不知怎么通过了学校的听力测试. Then, her mother became frustrated when Monterrosa kept saying she didn't hear her mother's calls. 她去做了适当的检查. The tests showed that her hearing would degrade over time and she expects to be fully deaf in her 40s.

Monterrosa has hearing aids, but she primarily reads lips. 尽管她的听力有问题, Monterrosa wanted to serve in the National Guard and, 因为她家经济拮据, 我打算去做这个而不是上大学. 至少, that was the plan until Griswold explained she could still join the National Guard through 埃尔迈拉大学 and major in the two fields that would set her up for the career of her dreams – an FBI agent.

Griswold couldn't be happier to have convinced her to take the 埃尔迈拉大学 path. 在她的, he has found a wealth of determination and an ability to connect with the other team members in a way that has shaped the group into a team. 所以他才请她当队长.

Monterrosa stays busy with plenty of other activities aside from her duties as wrestling captain. 她在甘尼特-特里普图书馆工作, is a resident assistant (RA) and tutor for American Sign Language, 西班牙语和英语. She's also the founder and president of the Sharing a Smile club that provides basic necessities like toiletries for the homeless.

"Leslie is fast to reach out to new students and help them feel welcomed and at home," Griswold said.

Monterrosa has been sure to help students from warmer climates understand how cold an Elmira winter can get so they can bring the proper winter-weather gear. When she first arrived on campus, she just had a duffle with clothes. Her shoe selection was limited to sneakers, and light hoodies were her only jackets.

After some snowy weather and wet, squeaky shoes, Monterrosa invested in boots.

Monterrosa wants the team members know she is there to help them through moments of doubt and to work through the times when they might want to hop on a plane and go home.

"I'm family-oriented and I experienced my own homesickness," she said. "You have to know why you are here and what you are doing it for."

对蒙特罗莎来说，这是为了她的母亲. Someday she wants to be able to buy her mother a house, so she pushes to succeed in her coursework as well as on the wrestling mat.