Name: Geena UrangoSport: Women's Volleyball
Class: Senior
Major: Communication Management (Master's track)
GPA: 3.7
Jordan Moore (JM): You have a wonderfully flowing name. Is there a story behind it?
Geena Urango (GU): Thank you! My last name's origin is Mexican. Originally though, it was Uranga, but when my grandpa was younger and was moving from Texas to California, he wanted to sound more masculine, so he changed the "a" to an "o" on the end. My first name, both my parents agreed on, but my mom did numerology on it spelled "Gina" and my future did not look promising or good. My parents loved the name too much to choose a different one, so they just changed the spelling of it.
JM: So, you are an only child and an only grandchild. How many presents did you get for Christmas?
GU: A lot :). Well, at least when I was younger I did. I would wake up with my entire living room full of toys. Too many toys to the point where my mom never even wrapped my gifts.
JM: Does the only-child syndrome become a problem with team sports?
GU: I think one of the main reasons why I liked team sports so much when I was younger was because it was a way for me to make friends and not be bored at home by myself with my imaginary friends. I love team sports because it's great having my team as a second family.
JM: Tell me about Communication Management...
GU: Communication Management refers to our changing business environment. For example, businesses are often confronted with information and situations beyond their control. The only difference between a business that handles these situations successfully, and those that don't take the right actions all depend on the effectiveness of its communication management.
JM: I know you are an accomplished beach volleyball player as well. What do you think about USC adding sand volleyball in the near future?GU: I think it's awesome!! So many more opportunities for women student-athletes. I also hope to maybe have a chance of playing in its first season next Spring. I think it will also help with the popularity of the sport, which will hopefully help the AVP in the long run.
JM: You have friends playing volleyball in Europe. Would you be willing to live abroad to pursue that as a career?
GU: My two best friends are actually. Emilie Stewart (who graduated from USC last year) is playing in Innsbruck, Austria, and Rachael Moss (who graduated from Duke last year) is playing in Benidorm, Spain. Everyone keeps telling me that it's totally worth it. I know quite a few other people who have also done it, or are still playing overseas and they keep telling me to. I am considering it, but we will see how this beach volleyball thing pans out as well :)
JM: You are 5'10", which is tall for the real world, but you hang out in the Amazon world. Do they make fun of you as one of the short ones?GU: It's kind of ironic that before I got to USC, I was "made fun of" as being one of the tallest girls at school. Now being on this team, I am the 4th/5th shortest, but quite honestly, I have gotten so used to it to the point where I almost feel as though I am the same height as them.
JM: I've done some deep background for this interview and heard that you are committed to wearing your retainer to bed every night, but it creates quite a lisp. What are the toughest words to say?
GU: Let me guess...Farren Benjamin, my roommate who is also a hammer thrower at USC, told you about this little secret of mine? Well, I guess I'll have to get her back for this...but yes, I'll admit, I wear a retainer ritually. Farren and Kimmee Roleder truly enjoy this part of our ritual before-bed chats. They won't let me go to sleep sometimes until I say "covers" or "Krispy Kreme Donuts"...more difficult words to say will be discovered in the near future.
JM: Volleyball season is winding down. What is it going to take for this team to find the consistency to make an NCAA run?GU: Our three losses should have and could have been wins, but those are in the past and there's nothing we can do about them now. What we can do is learn from those losses and find ways in which we can improve. I feel as though our season (just like every other) has been a battle. Every team in the Pac-10 presents a challenge. We have overcome many obstacles and shown great improvement in the past couple weeks. It's great that we have this confidence and winning attitude going for us in this second round of Pac-10 play. Hopefully it keeps up and carries into the NCAA tournament.
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