Buffs Orejel Adds Diploma To Her List of 'Firsts'

BOULDER — Joss Orejel admits "a little part" of her has always thrived when people have doubted her.

"It makes me strive just that much harder," Orejel said. "I think it actually makes me work a little harder and makes me want to prove them wrong."

Orejel will add to her ever-growing bucket of proof this week. The former Colorado soccer standout will graduate with a degree from the College of Media, Communication and Information, making her the first in her family to earn a university diploma.

It will be the latest in a series of firsts for Orejel, the first-born child of immigrants who grew up doing what people around her suggested couldn't be done — beginning with athletic pursuits.

"I was always the first woman in my family to do sports," Orejel said. "In the Hispanic culture, sports are generally considered to be kind of masculine — women shouldn't be playing sports. It's looked down on in a way. But I did it anyway because I enjoyed it and I was good at it."

Indeed. Good enough to be asked to play for Mexico's U-17 national team when she was still in high school and play in the 2012 World Cup. Good enough to play for the So Cal Blues, a high-level club team that won three league titles, back-to-back Surf College Cup championships and the 2011 state championship.

And good enough to be offered a scholarship to Colorado, opening the door for the path to a  degree.

"It feels pretty good," she said with an easy laugh. "Actually, it feels great. My mom was about to start college when she was young — she did go for a little bit — but then my parents ended up getting married and a year later I came along. I'm the oldest in the family, so I've always been kind of a leader in a lot of things."

Orejel has two younger siblings, both of whom are also attending college. But this week, when her parents — Rudy and Rosie Orejel — attend CU's graduation ceremony, they will watch with pride as she collects the first diploma in their family.

"They're happy — really happy," she said. "But they have been teasing me that they will be more proud once they get here and see it actually happen. They say they want to see it become official."

Orejel also made her parents proud on the pitch in her four years with Danny Sanchez's Buffs. A three-year starter at defender, she helped Colorado to three NCAA Tournament appearances in her career, and finished tied for fifth on CU's all-time assists list with 14 — the most ever for a CU defender. As a senior, she also was named United Soccer Coaches second-team All-West Region after starting 21 matches.

"Sports have always taught me things you can't really learn in the classroom," Orejel said. "You learn how to deal with adversity, how to organize time management and how to prioritize things."

Those skills, she said, were imperative to helping her succeed in the classroom.

"Time management is just part of who you are as an athlete," she said. "I would see some of my friends who weren't in sports struggle with it, but as an athlete, it is just part of the process. When you start your day getting up at 5 a.m. to go to a workout, then go to class, then go to a meeting with a tutor or a coach or watch film, then go home and do your homework … you just learn how to fit everything in."

There were times in her life when managing academics and athletics didn't come easily — particularly in high school, when she did her best to balance her time between playing for the Mexican national team, which required frequent travel, and trying to keep up with her school work.

"I think a couple of my teachers might have had some doubts," she said. "I admit, it was hard juggling school with traveling with the national team. I think there were some teachers who thought I just didn't want to do the work.  I remember them saying 'When you go to college, that's not going to happen. You're not going to make it.'

"But now I'm going to graduate and I can say, 'OK, I made it.'"

Early in her time at CU, Orejel also encountered what many other student-athletes experience in their careers — a feeling from other students that athletes are treated "differently."

"I'm not sure a lot of students understand everything that goes into being a student-athlete," she said. "They think we get all this help — tutors, things like that — but they don't realize all the time and effort we put into competing."

But, she said, once her friends got a closer glimpse of her life, they began to have a better understanding of what a student-athlete's life entails.

"They saw when I had to be at a workout at 6 a.m. and they were getting up at 10 a.m.," she said. "We would be working on class projects together and they would see my schedule and realize how much time is involved in athletics. Then, I think they appreciated a little more what our lives are like, and they didn't think it was easy to be an athlete."

Orejel hasn't yet decided what the next chapter in her life will entail. She played some "friendlies" this year with the Mexican national team, and last year completed a marketing internship with LiveNation, a concert and live venue promoter. It is a field she would like to pursue on a professional basis.

But, she already knows what she will miss.

"I'll miss the competition, I'll miss the practice, I'll miss my team," she said. "You can set goals in life, but is reaching that goal going to be as big as beating the No. 1 team in the nation? Probably not."

And, she grudgingly admits she will even miss those crack-of-dawn workouts.

"While it was going on, I remember thinking I can't wait for it to be done so I don't have to get up at 5 a.m. for practice anymore," she said. "Now, I kind of regret thinking that. I kind of wish I had a chance to do it all over again."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu