Wofford College offers a range of diversity with 46 international students from different continents, including Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia. Representing Belgium is freshman Robin Hupin, who is still getting settled at Wofford.

“I feel perfectly at home here at Wofford,” he says.

Although he is more than 3,000 miles away from home, what keeps him going, he says, is his love for soccer.

“Soccer has helped me a ton. We have a great group of guys on the team. It is definitely the closest team I have ever been a part of,” he says, describing how his team has helped him adjust to life here. “So you basically come in with 35 new friends. It is a great feeling to have these guys looking out for you when you’re in a completely new environment.”

He enjoys the professional aspect of beng on a Division I team. As most people know, what we call soccer in America is known as football in Europe; Hupin says that there are a lot of other differences beyond the name that people are unaware of, such as the physicality of the sport and the techniques. However, he feels like wherever he plays soccer, as long as it involves people who love the sport, it is always the same to him.

“The practices are tough, but a lot of fun,” he says.

For never having lived in the United States before, Hupin has adapted well into his new home at Wofford. However, even with the support of his teammates, Hupin says he misses his twin. And most of all, he says, “I miss my own bed.”

— Princess-Ann George-Ezuma