DAVE FAVILA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — It’s not everyday that an individual gets to fulfill a longtime dream.
Harlingen High’s Gabriella Vargas, however, did just that on Monday morning.
Vargas, a 3-year varsity soccer player for the Lady Cardinals, signed her name to the dotted line that officially made her a future student-athlete at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie.
SAGU competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference and is a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I university. This past season, the women’s soccer team went 9-9 and finished 3-6 in SAC play.
Vargas first fell in love with SAGU when she was 10 years old because it’s where her parents both received their pastor licenses.
“I used to go up there when I was little and I just knew even back then that it was where I wanted to go to school when the time came,” she said. “Today was just a dream come true.”
And getting to play soccer while attending college only adds to the dream, Vargas said.
“I had never really thought about playing in college, especially since I had been hurt most of this past season,” she said. “However, when I went up there on a recent visit, I spoke to the coach and she encouraged me to go for it, and I did.
“I also met a lot of the girls on the team and they really made me feel at home.”
Vargas said she plans on studying psychology at SAGU and hopes to one day become a children’s counselor.
And while she is looking forward to her first day of college later this year, she is a bit anxious about the move even though she has family in the area.
“It will be different and I’m sure I’ll get a little homesick, and I’m going to miss the food down here the most,” she said. “But I’m excited and can’t wait.”