When it came to choosing a roommate for my freshman year, I decided to have a random roommate and hoped that I would have someone who would be a good fit for me. I was honest filling out the survey and hoped that the person I was paired with would be someone who matched the qualities that I was looking for. When I was assigned my roommate, Diego, I found out that he was from Mexico City which came as a surprise to me. I didn’t expect to be rooming with someone from another country, but I thought that it would be a good experience having someone with a different background than me be the first person I get to know. I came from a sheltered town, and I thought that having an international roommate would be a way for me to get over the culture shock that I would experience being in New York City.

When I met him on move-in day and started talking to him, I could tell that he matched the roommate I was going for. We both were a little nervous about being in college, but we saw Pace as an opportunity for us to grow as students and as individuals. Once classes started, I realized that we had the same approach to how we viewed college, but were motivated by different goals. We considered our education to be our main priority and we strived to be the best students we could be. I am attending college on a scholarship and was focused on maintaining it, while Diego was determined to earn a scholarship for next year. We both excelled academically and we motivated each other to do better. He viewed being educated in the United States as a way to challenge himself and be prepared for his first job after college. We both made Dean’s List our first semester, and I can credit part of that to to our work ethic that made me excel.

Outside of academics we had different personalities that complemented each other well. Diego was more outgoing and wanted to explore New York City and make the most out of his time there, while I was more reserved and was content with spending my weekends relaxing in my dorm. He told me that he used to walk around Mexico City and experience what it had to offer. He came in with this same mindset for New York City and always looked for something new to try every weekend. I usually joined him, and along the way we found a few places that became our go-to if we ever wanted to travel outside of the Financial District such as Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market and Crif Dogs in East Village.

Throughout the semester, I began to develop an appreciation for soccer because of him. I only played soccer in kindergarten and wasn’t a fan of playing the game, but Diego grew up with the sport and wanted to keep playing despite our campus not having any sports. We were both athletic in high school and found soccer as a way to stay in shape and be competitive. Whether it be scrimmaging at the Bryant Park field or playing FIFA until 4:00 a.m., soccer was a way for us and our floor to bond. Our floor didn’t have a theme, but by the first month we turned the seventh floor into the FIFA floor because of us developing the same enjoyment for the game.

Looking back, having Diego as a roommate was one of the highlights of the year. We were friends from the start and I was able to have a memorable freshman year because of how I spent it. If I didn’t have him as a roommate I would not have gone out as much and realized how lucky I was to be in such a bustling city where there was something new to try every day. Although I'm dorming and he’s getting an apartment, my year spent in room 711 with him was a great first year to start at Pace and one that made me realize how many opportunities were in the city.