Isaac Ochoa, a UTRGV Men’s Soccer junior midfielder from the Hidalgo County city of Peñitas, is proud of his Hispanic heritage.
Ochoa was asked if being Hispanic has affected his pursuit of athletics.
“Yeah, it has affected my pursuit of athletics in a positive way,” he said. “I can say that just being Hispanic, when you’re playing against someone, you tell yourself, ‘This guy is not beating me.’
“It’s that winning mentality and just going after it every day and outworking your opponent at all times.”
Ochoa said being a Hispanic athlete playing Division 1 sports “feels really good, especially being the first one in my family playing Division 1.”
“It feels amazing because not many people do it,” he said. “They think only people from different nationalities can do it. But we’re here to show them that Mexicans can do it as well.”
Asked what being Hispanic means to him, Ochoa replied, “Being Hispanic, to me, means a lot from growing up with my grandparents and just, basically, the way you’re raised and the morals and everything that’s taught to you. … It has impacted me in a positive way.”
Ochoa hopes to keep playing soccer and go professional but knows it is always good to have a degree as a backup, saying coaches instill the value of an education in them as well.
UTRGV freshman defender Juan Pablo Gonzalez, of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, said he was raised in a Catholic home and with other Mexican traditions.
“Since I was 3 years old, I’ve been playing soccer,” Gonzalez said.
He was asked if being Hispanic has affected his pursuit of athletics.
“Yes, I think every country has their own culture when practicing sports,” Gonzalez replied. “In Mexico, we had another mentality, another way
of working. Both are good, but me being from Mexico, it’s a totally different process from the way used
in Mexico.”
Asked how he felt being a Hispanic Division 1 athlete, he replied, “First of all, [I am] proud of the effort I’ve been making during my football and academic career, because both go hand [in] hand here.”
Gonzalez said he is proud of being Hispanic.
“Like I said, every country has their culture and way of looking at life, and I feel proud of being Mexican, and having Mexican blood in me,” he said. “Since I was very young, I was raised to do everything right and to always take responsibility for everything you do.”
Gonzalez said his objective when coming to UTRGV was to become a professional soccer player. He said education is still important to him and believes it makes you more complete and forges you into a better person, overall.
Aliyah Castillo, of Brownsville, is a freshman runner on the UTRGV Women’s Track & Field Team who started sports at a young age.
“I started karate when I was 2,” Castillo said. “My mom was really like, ‘You have to be good. You have to be good.’ Everybody expected a lot. I mean, that’s what Hispanic parents want: better outcomes than they had.”
She said being Hispanic means “working hard.”
“I think Hispanics are strong … and caring,” Castillo said. “I think they’re always there for each other.”
Asked what her plans for the future are, she replied, “I want to major in civil engineering and, eventually, start my own business. And then, maybe, get into architecture.”
