The Town of Carisolo, Italy is located in the Trentino region of Northern Italy, set in the Alps. The region is recognized for its location - ideal for hiking, skiing and mountain biking. Carisolo is comprised of approximately 1,000 residents, including Southern Connecticut women's soccer freshman Greta Brunello.
Carisolo is a modest town – small, with two hotels and four restaurants. In addition to those four restaurants is a bar, SerArtur, owned by Serafina and Arturo Brunello – Greta's parents. On Aug. 5, 2018, her former coach organized a celebration at the family's bar to celebrate Greta becoming the first student to leave the small town and travel to the United States to play NCAA Division II soccer.
"Leaving home was not easy, because it was a big change in my life, but I knew that if I didn't do it now, that I might not have the opportunity in the future," Brunello explained. "It helped that my parents and my family always supported me - even if it wasn't easy for them, either. I think it's hard for parents when their children leave, but they always told me that if I am happy, they will be happy too."
The first-year Owls' love for travel and a desire to experience different cultures pushed her towards joining the Global Brigades Club. The student club is affiliated with the Global Brigades organization, which is the largest student-led movement for global health.
Global Brigades is an international non-profit that uniquely implements a holistic model to meet a community's health and economic goals. The organization's website states that it's "model systematically builds community ownership and collaboratively executes programs with the end goal of sustainably transitioning to a relationship of impact monitoring."
"I have always had the desire to travel, learn other cultures, see new places and have different experiences," Brunello said. "I think those interests helped me to decide to leave Carisolo and come to Southern Connecticut State to study, and it definitely helped me to decide to go to Ghana."
On Jan. 6, 2019, Brunello will join other Southern Connecticut students on a goodwill trip to Ghana.
"We are going to work with the local plumbers, carpenters and masons to build outhouses near family's homes and install pour-flush water closet toilets fitted with bio-gas digester for families that do not a bathroom at home," Brunello explained. "We are going to carry-out sanitation and hygiene education to empower the communities to achieve good health through sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene services. Finally, we are going to build a hand-washing station for a family to encourage hand-washing and prevention of diseases."
The eight-day trip is the latest in several trips that the SCSU chapter has coordinated, which also included Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama. Upon arriving at Southern, Brunello was presented with the opportunity during international student orientation.
"The advisor for international students, who is also the advisor for this club, told us about this opportunity and I was interested since the beginning," Brunello said. "I thought that it will be a great experience for my life, also I like helping people. I love traveling to learn about other cultures and how people live around the world."
The trip will complete an incredible first semester of college for Brunello, who played a major role in the Owls' success this season, scoring twice and also seeing action in 18 games on her way to earning Northeast 10 All-Rookie honors. She completed the semester with a 4.0 grade-point average and aspires to enroll in the school's physical therapy program.
"She's not only contributed on the field, but she's also become fully integrated into the campus community," Owls' head coach Adam Cohen said. "We're so happy to have her at Southern! Greta is a true asset and I am grateful that her family has entrusted us with their daughter. I expect to see great things from Greta!"
credit: southernctowls.com
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