{"id":3197,"date":"2015-10-23T18:58:11","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T18:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/166.62.41.2\/~holaamericanews\/2015\/10\/23\/moline-grad-salazar-finding-his-way-at-mckendree\/"},"modified":"2015-10-23T18:58:11","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T18:58:11","slug":"moline-grad-salazar-finding-his-way-at-mckendree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/moline-grad-salazar-finding-his-way-at-mckendree\/","title":{"rendered":"Moline grad Salazar finding his way at McKendree"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When he was growing up and trying to find his path in life, Edwin Salazar never envisioned reaching his current destination. Work, not college, is what he thought it would be after graduating from high school.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLuckily,\u201d the 2013 Moline graduate said, \u201can opportunity came. I took advantage.\u201d<\/p>

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Soccer presented Salazar with an avenue to college. Motivated to make the most of his shot, he earned an associate\u2019s degree from Lincoln College in May. Salazar parlayed that into continuing both his academic and athletic careers at McKendree.<\/p>\n

In each aspect, he is thriving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pretty proud of myself,\u201d Salazar said.<\/p>\n

There is reason to hold his head high.<\/p>

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Admitting he \u201cdidn\u2019t care much\u201d about his grades in high school, the grade-point average reflected that. Salazar\u2019s focus remained on soccer throughout this time, never fully grasping the sport could continue his education.<\/p>\n

\"\"As he got older, the perspective change. Seeing his mom struggle with money forced him to re-evaluate his thoughts on education.<\/p>

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\u201cMy mom always told me school was important,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t believe it. Now I know it. Education takes you far in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given a shot to play at Lincoln College for two seasons, Salazar seized the moment. His play on the field improved, providing him the chance to join a Division II program. Salazar chose McKendree, a Great Lakes Valley Conference member in Lebanon.<\/p>

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On his way to reaching the suburban St. Louis school, he also earned his associate\u2019s degree. The grade-point average at Lincoln reached the 3.0 threshold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to continue my education,\u201d Salazar said.<\/p>

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Athletics provided that chance. In the classroom, he is excelling. On the pitch, he is finding a groove.<\/p>\n

Salazar is one of 11 players who has appeared in all 13 matches for the Bearcats this season. The junior midfielder has made five starts and tallied three shots. All but two of McKendree\u2019s matches this season have been decided by one goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m getting better and learning new things,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cI\u2019m learning how to control the ball and move it. I\u2019m learning how to do the little things right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five out of the previous eight matches featured Salazar in the starting lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe competition is a whole different level from Lincoln and Moline, but I love it,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cI\u2019m competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fire is evident on the academic side, too.<\/p>\n

Any time spent away from soccer is geared toward his studies. Salazar said he lives in the library, being \u201cthere from 6 to midnight\u201d during the week. All his effort is put to completing his criminal justice degree with a minor in physiology.<\/p>\n

Upon graduation, he may complete his master\u2019s degree. The goal is becoming a probation officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the first ones in my family to leave home and go to college,\u201d Salazar said. \u201cTo go far, you have to get an education. … Just because you grow up with nothing doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll be nothing. I want to be something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salazar thinks about the people who put him in this place — his mother, siblings, coaches and Moline teacher Wendy Pilichowski — and realizes everyone gave him direction to reach college. He does not want to let them down. Being a student-athlete is something that creates pride.<\/p>\n

Becoming a college graduate is the next step.<\/p>\n

Picture bottom: Salazar playing for MHS in 2013 Picture by Todd Welvaert courtesy of The Dispatch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Picture Top: McKendree junior midfielder and 2013 Moline graduate Edwin Salazar, right, is thriving. Salazar, a junior-college transfer, has appeared in all 13 matches this season and is working toward his degree.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

McKendree University Sports Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When he was growing up and trying to find his path in life, Edwin Salazar never envisioned reaching his current destination. Work, not college, is what he thought it would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"es","enabled_languages":["en","es"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"es":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/holaamericanews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}