Nadia Aboulhosn has distinguished herself as a soccer player thus far in her career. Last season, as a true freshman, she ranked third on the women’s soccer team with seven points. This past summer, Aboulhosn’s club team won the United Soccer League Super-20 North American Championship. And thus far this season, Aboulhosn is tied for second with six points in just three games of play.
But like for so many collegiate athletes, while the opportunity to play professionally would be great, the likelihood of that becoming reality is slim, according to Aboulhosn. So in addition to playing the sport she loves, she pours time and effort into what really matters to her — serving. Aboulhosn seeks to leave her mark through work in the community and academics.
“A lot of [my community service] is through State. I worked with the Middle School Leadership Conference,” Aboulhosn said, “They base it on integrity, compassion, honesty and service, and we facilitate sessions on those areas.”
Aboulhosn also has been involved with the organization Big Brothers Big Sisters. She said that she had a little sister for a long time up until recently, when her sister moved away.
“I really enjoyed [the experience],” she said.
Women’s soccer coach Laura Kerrigan commended her for her hard work and service.
“Nadia is such a great example of a student-athlete who is giving back to the community,” Kerrigan said. “She is also heavily involved in the local chapter of the Big Brother Big Sister organization. This just shows what a tremendous person she is, in addition to being a fantastic soccer player.”
The activities in which Aboulhosn partakes will not only help her grow as a person, but are also beneficial for all N.C. State students, athletes and non-athletes alike, according Demetrius Marlowe, the assistant director of academic support programs for student athletes and coordinator of partnerships and development at N.C. State.
“Many college students believe that their dream job will require a high grade point average and graduation from a popular academic program in a tier-one research university. While this may be true in some instances, it is becoming more prevalent that the student who has successfully navigated the university experience and demonstrated values-based leadership in some capacity will find not only gainful employment, but also satisfaction from depositing humanitarian contributions that uplift the downtrodden and extinguish the plight of the less fortunate,” Marlowe said.
And Aboulhosn also has the academic achievements as well. Last year she received ACC Academic Honors for her hard work in the classroom.
But Aboulhosn almost lost the opportunity to continue her efforts as a student athlete at N.C. State.
After she decided on coming to Kerrigan’s program, Aboulhosn, along with every other incoming freshman, was given a workout routine.
“I followed that routine to the letter,” Aboulhosn said.
But after working so hard that summer, she came into school more out of shape than ever.
“I was so tired that I would literally collapse after every practice,” Aboulhosn said.
After a doctor’s visit, she discovered that she had anemia — a condition where someone does not have enough of the red blood cells which carry oxygen, causing fatigue among other symptoms. And because of this condition Aboulhosn failed the fitness test at the beginning of the year, meaning she had an extra workout every day.
“I was really not enjoying it [at that point],” she said.
Aboulhosn ended up quitting the team. But as her health returned, she began to realize how much she missed it.
“When I started to feel better, I really wanted to come back,” Aboulhosn said. “So I asked Coach Kerrigan, and she was very understanding.”
The whole experience taught Aboulhosn a lesson.
“I learned a lot–to be more patient, to really think about big decisions,” she said.
And now that she is established as a force on the soccer team, she can give even more time to being a force in the community.
