Jose Stefano
I was born in Puglia, Italy in 2008. I stayed there until after first grade and then moved to the United States in August, 2015. I had to go into second grade not knowing any English, but I picked up on it quickly. I went to a school in northern Kentucky called Caywood Elementary until fourth grade and then moved to St. Gabriel Consolidated School in 2018 in Glendale, Ohio, which I stayed at until 8th grade. I’ve also played soccer throughout my whole life. I first started when my grandpa taught me how to play back in Italy, and I continued playing even after moving here. I started tryouts with Kings Hammer the month after we moved, and then then got scouted for FCC’s academy during the pandemic and stayed there throughout my freshman year.
The main thing that I have done at Moeller is soccer. I played varsity soccer for three years, and I could not have been happier and more fulfilled with myself or my teammates. We won three consecutive GCL titles, two regional championships, went to state, had a crazy shutout streak that lasted the whole season, and, most importantly, went undefeated against St. X all three years with no goals scored against. Apart from soccer, I’ve also participated in some service opportunities, the main ne being the Guatemala trip during the summer. This was one of the most important things I did here at Moeller because it made me become more open-minded and also showed me the true colors of the world, and I could not recommend a trip more than this one.
My favorite moment at Moeller was definitely going to the state championship during my sophomore year. Stepping into the stadium, everything felt surreal. Usually, I was nervous before every game because it was my first season playing. But, for some reason, I did not feel nervous at all, which could partly have been because of the importance of the game. If we would have won that, we would have also stayed ranked number one in the country and won a national championship. During the game, we scored in the first twenty minutes, and I genuinely thought we had won. Sadly, Iggy scored during the last 5 minutes, and we went to overtime and then penalties, where we ended up losing. Even though this was one of the saddest parts of my Moeller career, it is still my favorite because it is a reminder that no matter how good something is, there is always a bad side to it.
My goals for after Moeller are to study either biomedical or chemical engineering. I have not decided where I want to go to school yet, but I will end up going to Ohio State or Georgia Tech (which comes out Friday). After college, I plan on getting an MBA and also specializing in a specific type of engineering field. I also plan on getting two to three internships while also participating in clubs all throughout college.