San Diego State University has a number of student-athletes who come from different cultural backgrounds, one of those being Hispanic student-athletes.

Every year, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, celebrating Latin American countries that gained their independence from Spain. 

The SDSU women’s volleyball team has two Mexican athletes, Sarena Gonzalez and Andrea Campos, who have connected with their Mexican culture through their sport. 

Gonzalez, who is studying psychology and a setter for the team, expressed her appreciation for the attention that Hispanic Heritage Month is getting.

“It’s really nice to see my culture and my heritage being put out there and the awareness being brought to it,” Gonzalez said. 

Campos, who is studying for her MBA and is also a setter for the team, talked about the importance of people learning the history of the Hispanic community.   

“It’s really just celebrating all Latin American History and also at the same time educating others on it,” Campos said. 

Different cultures have their own ways of growing up. Gonzalez’s toughness and love from her parents helped her become the player she is on the court. 

“My parents are very Mexican, so I had a very Mexican upbringing,” Gonzalez said. “They’re very strict with me but also very warm. The way that I play now is very much how they raised me and that’s my role on the team, very much tough but warm.”

The Day of the Dead is a celebration that Campos celebrates which connects her personally on the court and off. 

“Dia de Los Muertos we always put up an ofrenda and I think that’s something that’s really powerful to me,” Campos said. “In regards to just being able to feel connected and feel like I’m carrying on this legacy for my ancestors trying to bring that into my sports and making my ancestors proud.”

Campos is mixed with Mexican and white but she has not experienced any form of discrimination. 

“I want to acknowledge that I do 100% have privilege, my mom’s white and my dad’s Mexican,” Campos said. “I also will acknowledge that I’m pretty white-passing. I wouldn’t say that I personally faced any hardships but I do acknowledge that others have.”

On the other hand, Gonzalez has experienced people who look at her differently due to the way she looks.

“There’s definitely been people who look at me differently,” Gonzalez said. “They don’t say anything necessarily but you can tell and you get that feeling.”

Campos previously attended Villanova University before attending SDSU and was quite involved in her sports department. She was in a program that focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion where she was a student-athlete representative. 

“In the last institution that I came from I was part of this group called UNITAS and specifically I was the president of BIPOC,” Campos said. “It was a program that helped kind of lead a space for our athletes on campus. It will be sad at times because our group was pretty small. After all, the school was a predominantly white institution (PWI) and not as many people of color (POC) in athletics.”

Growing up, Gonzalez couldn’t see representation of Latinas in sports, but she felt happy that she could do that for many other younger girls. 

“When I was growing up there weren’t that many Latinas playing volleyball at the highest levels,” Gonzalez said. “Being able to have this opportunity makes me feel happy because then I see younger girls coming to the games.”

Campos grew up around sports but she had to play soccer before she found the passion for volleyball. 

“I actually started with soccer, that was my first sport and for whatever reason I got burnt out and switched to volleyball,” Campos said. “I was playing volleyball and soccer at the same time but, I don’t know, something about (volleyball) excited me.”

Campos’ father, Jorge Campos, was the goalkeeper for the Mexican national soccer team, so when she told him about switching sports he was fine with it. 

“I asked my dad, ‘Hey is it okay if I switch to volleyball,’” Campos said. “He was happy because I’m the oldest so he thought my two younger siblings were gonna still play soccer and then my brother played basketball and then my sister played volleyball.”

Both athletes shared advice for younger Hispanics who want to play sports at the collegiate level. Gonzalez mentioned the challenges and effort it takes to accomplish that goal.

“It’s gonna be hard but you just gotta do it if you want something bad enough,” Gonzalez said. “You just gotta work hard, hard work beats talent.”

Campos on the other hand mentioned that if a person has the desire for a sport then they should go for it. 

“Play a sport that you’re really passionate about because to continue playing at this level you need to also have the love for it,” Campos said. “Don’t see it as a chore or something that your parents made you do, just find the love for it.” 

Campos and Gonzalez are only a pair of Mexicans at SDSU who are leaving their mark by carrying their Hispanic heritage within the sport.