Sebastian Rodriguez: “The Beautiful Game”

Sebastian Rodriguez (he/him)

Since he was a young child watching Futbol Club Barcelona and playing pickup games with his family, rising junior Sebastian Rodriguez has seen how “The Beautiful Game” can connect people of all backgrounds. The Roosevelt soccer midfielder observes an international and multiracial presence on his team, among Lakers fans and the composition of the global sport.

“We have players on our team from all over the world—England, Germany, Ireland—and seeing how important soccer is to their countries as well shows me how this sport creates common ground,” he says. “This year we also saw even more fans in the Dog Pound, which is a student section where we consistently see international students and a diverse range of people who want to support us and the sport.”

Rodriguez was a talented high school prospect from Warren Township High School in Gurnee who received several offers from other institutions, but Roosevelt instantly stood out during a recruiting visit. “The moment I stepped on campus and met the team, I knew Roosevelt had separated itself from the other schools I looked at. From day one, I saw people who looked like me and who didn’t develop small groups, but instead wanted to learn from other people.”

Rodriguez has also been able to reflect on his Latino identity and role in the global community in the classroom. “Roosevelt offers such a wide range of perspectives in the classroom and is actually representative of a massive city like Chicago. And because there are students from so many different backgrounds, having deeper conversations about how our identities are different is encouraged, and I don’t take that for granted,” he says.

“When I took psychology, we spent significant time discussing structural and internalized racism, and it prompted discussions on the soccer team and interpersonal conversations that I don’t think would have happened otherwise.”

Rodriguez plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in Exercise, Nutrition & Health Science to stay connected to the sport he loves even when he becomes a Laker alumnus.