A N E W H O R I ZO N
As a young boy in Venezuela, Enrico Marino ’16 and his friends would watch American movies in awe of how different everything looked; how nice the schools, roads and homes were. Envious of the life he did not have and the place he might never go, Marino focused all his attention and energy into baseball, the thing at which he was great and might secure his future.
“Baseball was my life in Venezuela for many years. Where I’m from itʼs the national sport,” explained Marino. “Young men with athletic ability have two choices, you quit school and try to become a professional baseball player at 15 or 16 years old, or you stay in school. There’s no option to do both.” With the infrastructure and economy of his South American home country in steady decline, Marino and his mother searched for something better. They heard about colleges in the United States where you could play baseball and go to school on an athletic scholarship. 38
UPIKE MAGAZINE | FALL/WINTER 2021
