Senior swimmer Kelly McGowan is writing a series of profile stories on some of UIC's International student-athletes. This is the third edition of Flames From Afar.

Manuela Conte is a redshirt sophomore on the Volleyball Team from Bologna, Italy. Conte grew up in an extraordinarily athletic family, with her father and brother both having participated in the Olympic Games for volleyball, "my mother and father even met through volleyball" says Conte. Her father, Hugo Conte, played professionally in Italy, Argentina, and France, and attended the Olympic Games in 1984, 1988 where they won the bronze medal, and 2000. He is also a member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Her brother, Facundo Conte, currently plays professionally in China. He competed in the London (2012) and Rio de Janeiro (2016) Olympic Games.
 
Along with her family members, Conte would love to go professional one day, but would also enjoy starting her career after graduation, entering Physical Therapy school, and working on injured athletes like she once was herself. Conte suffered from an ankle injury her freshman year of college when she played volleyball for the University of Oklahoma. She was out the entire season and had to get surgery after injuring herself in the first week of practices. Due to this injury, she decided to redshirt her first year. Conte's injury and recovery process kick-started her interest, aspiring to be a physical therapist. She transferred to UIC her sophomore year, leaving behind Oklahoma, to experience more diversity, more opportunities, and to explore the city of Chicago.
 
Conte moved around a lot growing up because of her father's career, and lived most of her life moving back and forth between Argentina and Italy. Since she moved around a lot, she became more independent and fluent in languages such as Spanish, English, and of course, her native language, Italian.
 
One of Conte's biggest struggle coming to the US was being homesick, "it was hard with the time difference, not being able to call my parents to wish them goodnight or tell them about my day". She also struggled with the language barrier at first, like most internationals, but quickly adapted as she got close with her teammates and attended classes.
 
Although Conte was homesick at first, she is very thankful for the resources UIC offers to the international student-athletes. She enjoys the annual Thanksgiving dinner that the Athletic Department hosts for these international student-athletes, since most of her friends and teammates go home for the holiday. This made her and other internationals feel more at home as they were not left alone for the American holiday. Conte also worked in the Athletic Department tutoring Spanish to other student-athletes last year.
 
Besides school and athletics, Conte and her team volunteer a lot and attend SPARK missions throughout the city, such as packing and handing out lunches to the homeless.

Conte explained the long and stressful process of getting her visa to move the US, "the whole process took me six months, but at the end of the day, it was worth it". She originally did not think she would travel to the US for school, but since athletics were more recognized in the US, she thought it would be a great experience. Conte said she started thinking about competing and studying in the US when she attended a volleyball camp in Oregon at the age of 14.

Conte plans to graduate next spring with a Kinesiology Degree and continue her education in PT school thereafter, which takes three years to finish. After she graduates from PT school, she would like to move back home, whether that be Argentina or Italy, depending on where her family resides.