Willem van der Wende Biography Assignment

Wednesday, May 28, 1997. Borussia Dortmund just beat Juventus 3-1 at Munich in the UEFA Champions League Final, the Powerball was at a whopping $20.7 million, and somewhere in Russia (we don't know where), Willem van der Wende was born. Soon after, he was adopted by two kind, loving parents, Barbara and Ewout van der Wende, and began his new life in Anchorage, Alaska with them and his sister Anna.

After a few short years in Alaska, Willem's parents needed to make the move to Bozeman, Montana where they have lived ever since. Bozeman is a very up-and-coming city, with lots of shopping and hip attractions, and also a close proximity to major skiing destinations like Bridger Bowl and Big Sky.

After playing travel club soccer for several years, Willem was at a tournament in Ohio and it was there that he was scouted by Slippery Rock University's Head Soccer Coach to play varsity soccer for the school. This meant moving over 1800 miles away from his home and his family to pursue his education and his favorite sport.

Unfortunately, after his first year (and a 2015 PSAC Championship win), Willem was cut from the Varsity Soccer team. This left Willem with a difficult choice to make; should he stay at SRU where he was nearly two year's worth of credits into his degree, or should he go back home to his family and everything he knew for his whole life.

Ultimately, Willem made the decision to stay at SRU for a few reasons. Mainly, he was already nearly halfway done with his degree program, but also, he had found a new love: University Program Board. UPB is the organization that brings programming and events to Slippery Rock's campus, and Willem spent his first two years here working with the previous directors to learn skills and gain experience. Luckily, this paid off for him, because he was hired as the Director of Media Relations and has held the position for two years now.

The people Willem has worked with in his time at SRU have been impacted greatly by his kindness, skill, and excellent leadership. Derek Brewer, the newly appointed UPB Director of Concerts and Comedians, had a few words to say about the impact that Willem has had on him. Derek points out that Willem's leadership style led him to find a whole new passion that he didn't even know he had.

Overall, Slippery Rock has been a better place since Willem got here. Despite the setbacks he has faced his whole life, he has persevered and grown into a talented and strong individual, and I can't wait to see what kind of great things he moves on to next.