Joel "Jewlz" Morris
Sports Editor
Five minutes before 10 a.m., junior defender Samara Lopez walks into her kinesiology classroom with athletic shorts, a T-shirt and a long French braid going down her back.
Lopez is taking kinesiology classes to pursue a career in physical therapy.
Lopez heads to a desk in the back of the classroom, takes a seat and opens her laptop. She texts on her phone, waiting for her professor to arrive.
When the professor arrives and starts his lecture, Lopez’s studiousness shows as her eyebrows were knitted in concentration, looking up and down between her worksheet and laptop.
This is Lopez’s second class of the day, after 8 a.m. weight training on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Having an early class is something Lopez is adapting to as she is not “a morning person” and says it’s the hardest part of her day.
After kinesiology, she walks over from the Science and Technology Building to the athletic complex to prepare for practice.
Lopez looks forward to this part of the day, when she is surrounded by her teammates.
“Just seeing the girls, I feel like everyone comes in with such positive attitudes,” Lopez said.
On the soccer field, Lopez is a defender and finished the season with five goals, including a two-goal game versus the University of Southwest in Hobbs, New Mexico.
Throughout practice, Lopez is laid back during breaks and in between drills, but teammates will find their way to her for a quick smile or laugh.
Lopez has a switch to be competitive in drills, as the team was assigned to race each other and she consistently places in the top four.
While scrimmaging and learning a new formation, Lopez took criticism from Head Women’s Soccer Coach Tim Moody, correcting her “too many touches.” Lopez didn’t flinch or pout, instead just nodded her head and made the change.
Her teammates see her as a good example for the team, referring to Lopez as a “disciplined leader,” said senior midfielder Ana Baragan and junior Midfielder Jasmin Dominguez.
At the end of practice, the team huddled and Lopez led the chant with high volume and passion, “Jags on me, Jags on three…1,2,3 Jags!”
Though being a full-time student-athlete, Lopez works two jobs to afford living off campus. Some days she works both jobs, attends class and goes to soccer practice.
After practice ends at 2 p.m., she heads to her first job at Skyhawks, working with kindergarten through eighth-grade children, looking after them until parents pick them up.
At 6 p.m. she returns to campus wearing a blue shirt, yoga pants, hair down and holding a McDonald’s bag to start her second job as the Recreation Center supervisor. Lopez manages all activities from the dodgeball league to pick-up basketball games.
She works with two of her closest friends, kinesiology senior, Mackenzie Stewart and graduate biology student, Jacqueline Vargas.
Stewart, her teammate who has been sidelined all season due to a back injury, describes Lopez as a player who gives it her all on the field and a good dancer off the field.
The relationship between the two was “instant,” Stewart said. She knows she can call her when she needs her the most. “I put my trust in her,” Stewart said.
Vargas is her roommate as well. Living with a busy student-athlete who works two jobs, Vargas noticed the toll Lopez’s lifestyle takes on her, as she is consistently drained from her day when she returns home.
Vargas compared Lopez to Lorelai Gilmore from “Gilmore Girls.” Gilmore also has a complex life but still finds time to be witty and good-hearted.
While Lopez was doing homework at her job, Stewart came by to hand her a black-and-white photo of a cat. “Aww,” Lopez says.
As Stewart leaves, less than a minute later, Vargas comes over with the same printed photo of the cat and says, “Oh no,” when she realizes that Lopez received the same thing from Stewart. The friends laugh and smile at the coincidence.
Being from El Paso, Lopez is seven hours away from home, but friends like Vargas and Stewart make San Antonio feel more like home.
Completing her shift at 9:30 p.m., it was time for Lopez to go home and wind down while watching one of her favorite shows: “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “One Tree Hill” or “Tell Me Lies.”
Lopez’s responsibilities of being a leader and respected teammate helped her team make a strong push for the playoffs toward the end of the season, despite not making it.
Being able to balance student life, soccer and working multiple jobs reflects her values she learned from her family.
“The way I was raised, it’s like if you’re going to do something, you’re going to do it 100 percent,” Lopez said. “So, whenever I put myself in new situations or unfamiliar places, it’s like, ‘oh, I’m going to give it my all.’”
Giving it her all in every aspect of her life creates some natural fatigue, but with goals to keep her grades high and excel as a leader on the field, it is all worth the effort.
“I’m hoping to grow more as a captain,” Lopez said. “Academically, I’m just looking to pass with all A’s.”
