Soarin' Beyond the Sport is a series in which members of the Post University Athletic Communications Team sit down with student-athletes across all the varsity athletic programs offered at Post University to learn more about interesting stories about the players off the field, court, ice, etc. in a short interview format. All the interview questions, filming, editing, and write-ups are done by the featured member of the Athletic Communications Team to help them gain new experiences in a variety of important aspects in the field.

In this episode, Athletic Communications Fall Intern, Michael Caporale talks with senior outside hitter Tamara Radovanov about coming over from Serbia to play volleyball, the difference in culture between the two countries, and managing her time with athletics. In talking with senior setter Maria Fernanda Branco the two discussed the transition from Division I Hofstra University to Division II Post University as well as the culture in Brazil versus America, and managing time between the volleyball season and academics.

WATERBURY, Conn. -- Senior setter Maria Fernanda Branco admitted that her path to Post University may seem a little unconventional, but talking to her about her experience made all the sense in the world. Originally from Brazil and recruited to play Division I Women's Voleyball at Hofstra University, Branco discussed her journey in depth, mentioning, "I was not able to play, and I was just on the bench, and I wanted to be in the games. Also, it was difficult to choose the major in what I wanted" when talking about her previous experiences. With that in mind she transferred from Hofstra to Post University in her sophomore year.

Being from a different country in Brazil, she noticed a handful of differences, "The way that volleyball is played here is different and I actually like it better. I do not know if you noticed but after every point scored we go into a huddle and talk this was kind of new to me because we did not really do this in Brazil."

Branco is more than just a great athlete and volleyball player and talked about how she balanced her time between her classes as a Biology Major, Women's Volleyball player, and student worker. "Coach Tiff, has us kind of look at a shared Google Calendar which lets me know when I need to be doing volleyball. Around that I know when I have to work and when I have to do school. Everything is very regimented and almost time restricted, but it also lets me know I have to have everything done by a certain time"

Head Coach Tiffany Verni has been the coach of the Post University Women's Volleyball for the past three years and finished arguably her most successful season this fall. With the Eagles going 20-11 it was a phenomenal season by all accounts, winning their first CACC Division Championship since 2018 and advancing to their first CACC Championship Match since 2018 as well. 

Our final conversation was about her favorite food. "Rice and beans and there is actually a Brazilian restaurant that is close to school that reminds me of my mom's cooking so I actually have been going there quite a bit."

Next, a senior outside hitter for the Eagles Tamara Radovanov talked about her experience being a collegiate volleyball player from Pancevo, Serbia. When first asked about one major difference between her home country and America, Radovanov immediately brought up the contrast between the food. Mentioning that Americans are more fast food oriented and eat meals earlier in the day while that seemed foreign to her lifestyle in Serbia.

The outside hitter also later mentioned that her communication style was one of the major adjustments she had to work on as the barriers between countries are quite different. Once getting to Post, the student-athlete talked about how influential her student job was when it came to being integrated into the University's community so she could meet a lot of students and attend outside events.

Similar to Branco, Radovanov discussed time management and that Head Coach Tiffany Verni helps them through team calendars which makes it incredibly easy, while having a separate personal planner for academics.