SEAN MOW/THE REPORTER
Valeria Santos never planned to play volleyball at Miami Dade College.
In August of last year, she started her freshman season at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez where her father coached. He volleyball career was going according to plan.
However, barely a month later, her world would be decimated.
On Sept. 20, 2017, at 6:15 a.m., Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, devastating the small, populous, island. At the time of its landing, the National Weather Service observed winds up to 155 miles per hour.
The cyclone brought with it 30 inches of rain and tornado-like gusts that tore through the island’s heart.
It was the fifth-strongest storm to hit the United States. A George Washington University study listed the death toll at 2,975; up to 80 percent of the island’s infrastructure was destroyed.
“It still affects me psychologically,” Santos said. “It’s as if it happened yesterday.”
During the storm, she took shelter in her aunt’s house in Vega Baja. The home’s second level was torn apart, forcing the family to seek shelter on the first floor.
As the storm made its way, the home began to flood and the family had to take turns sleeping on the few mattresses available.
“My grandma would have panic attacks and I had to keep her calm the entire time,” Santos said. “As I looked out the window and saw the trees fall and all the damage, I lost hope that things could ever return to normal.”
As the island slowly regained electricity and cellular service, Santos and her father decided that they had to move to the United States.
Her father, who knows Lady Sharks head coach Origenes “Kiko” Benoit, spoke to him about Santos playing for MDC. Though the volleyball season had ended, Santos left for Miami that December.
“In the beginning, she was kind of shy,” Benoit said. “Transitioning to the team was not that bad because of how we opened up to her. The hardest thing for her was the different culture we have here. The main thing for her to adapt was getting by in classes and trying to not think about how she left a part of her life in Puerto Rico.”
When she enrolled at MDC in the spring of 2018, Santos had to overcome countless barriers.
She had to learn a new language and acclimate herself to a new city while balancing her classwork.
“It was hard at first,” Santos said. “I had a hard time with the language and getting used to the school.”
During that semester, Santos spent many sleepless nights trying to learn the language, with Benoit by her side tutoring her.
“For players like her, where English is the second language, if we have to stay until nine [p.m.] to make sure she’s doing well, we will,” Benoit said. “It’s our job as coaches to make sure these athletes are able to move on to the next level.”
Luckily, Santos had the support of her MDC volleyball family and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, who donated $250,000 to support displaced Puerto Ricans students at MDC.
While the Knight Foundation assisted her in buying books, registering for classes and providing a counselor to continue guiding her, she found solace in volleyball.
As she describes it, the moment she arrived on campus, the team welcomed her with open arms.
“They welcomed me home,” Santos said.
In the 11 months she has been at MDC, she now feels rejuvenated. The Lady Sharks have remained undefeated this season and are poised to win a third-straight national championship.
“Being here is such a great opportunity for me,” Santos said. “I’ve been able to make the most of the chances I’ve been given so that I can continue my career and studies.”
She has also made a seamless transition on the court in her first season for the Lady Sharks.
The diminutive defensive specialist has started all 23 of the matches she has played, providing a mature approach to the game and rescuing her team from defensive lapses.
“She acts like she’s been on the team since last year,” sophomore setter Paola Pena said. “Just how she is and how her personality fits, she helps keep the team united.”
Santos returned to Puerto Rico this past summer. Her homeland, she says, is far from recovered.
“Places were still without power, there was little phone reception and buildings remained damaged,” Santos said.
But she has faith the island will bounce back.
“We’re [Puerto Ricans] very strong-willed,” Santos said. “I know that we can rise past this and work hard to return our island to the place we called home before the hurricane.”
