Fencing is an individual sport, for the most part. Although fencers sometimes participate in team events, at the end of the day, you are the only one physically on the strip. As a result, I was picturing an environment much like that of a club - we would come together to train, but ultimately, we would be competing for our own sakes. Instead, what I found was entirely different. The team welcomed me with open arms and from day one, I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. During the first team competition I participated in with my squad, we took the bronze medal at the North American Cup. I was blown away by the sense of camaraderie it brought. Before that tournament, I had never had people in my corner cheering me on like that, and when I stood on the podium, wearing the UC San Diego colors, I knew I wanted to keep chasing that feeling.
