This week on Patriot Profiles, George Mason Women's Volleyball will profile the team's newcomers. Today, Licie Leite talks about her childhood desire to attend college in the United States, her dream internship and how much she's enjoying being around her peers at George Mason.
Previous entries include Emily Haak, Pihla Jarvenpaa, Emily Konchan

My name is Licie Leite and I am an incoming international transfer student. I am originally from Brazil, but after spending two years playing volleyball at College of Central Florida I decided to expand my horizons and look for a school where I could be challenged both athletically and academically. George Mason University seemed the perfect choice for me to achieve my goal of graduating with a Communication degree while playing volleyball in a Division I university.

While in Brazil, I have always seen a bunch of TV shows and movies that can be related to the American college experience. When I found out that I was going to have an American college experience of my own, the feeling was unreal. Through the summer I spent the majority of the days wondering what my years at Mason would be like. I was sure that since I was transferring from a small Community College to a prestigious university like George Mason, everything would be different - maybe just like what I had seen in the movies. I could not wait to get here and find out more about my team, my classes, and how my schedule would work. I was literally crossing days on my calendar for my arrival at Mason. When the day finally came and I arrived on campus, I realized that my dreamy-movie expectations had become real.

The Fairfax campus is very charming and is surrounded by trees and buildings which are full of pleasant surprises. Those surprises almost make us students second guess if we are really in a scholar environment. As well as the campus, Fairfax County is a laid back enchanting place. For those who seek a more urbanized high-paced city, Washington D.C. is only twenty minutes away which combines the best of both worlds.

Despite being an international student-athlete, I will pursue a Communication degree with a double concentration: Public Relations and Journalism. There aren't many international students studying communications, so I know that there will be a lot of hard work involved in the process of improving my communications skills in order to graduate, but from what I have seen so far at Mason, I am positive that I can definitely strive. Hopefully, with the knowledge I gather here and the help of my professors, I will have the opportunity to an internship in an advertising or PR agency in D.C. and further even get a job in the nation´s heart.

One of the best things here is that the university presents a wide variety of Division 1 sports and for that reason, there is a hard working staff behind athletics, supporting athletes with anything they might need in order to ease their lives as student-athletes. As a matter of fact, all the people I have had the pleasure to meet here at Mason are very friendly-energized people, willing to help those in need at anytime, which make students like me that are 5,000 miles away from home feel like we just never left. Diversity is in every corner of the university and that can be shown through students from all across the globe and even in the many dining options on campus that can surely delight anyone looking for a good meal.

I simply love it here. There is so much to do, to see, and to learn. More important than anything I can have my once in a lifetime college experience in a place that for sure is going to go beyond all my expectations. Now that I am here I could not be happier with my decision of becoming a Patriot. What there is left to say? GO, PATRIOTS!