My Story Matters: Adara Opiola

Adara Opiola never fully embraced her Latin heritage before she came to UNI. She didn't talk about her ethnicity much, and it was easy not to talk about it in a sport like softball because she wasn't around a lot of minorities while playing the sport in high school and travel ball.

"I tried to build a comfort zone of pretending to be like everyone else," she said. "My comfort zone ended up being a barrier. I always felt I couldn't be myself."

She grew up in Iowa City. In the midwest, softball tends to be a less diverse sport than other areas of the country. But before she could even walk, Opiola was already swinging a bat. It was her sport, and she stuck with it, only viewing herself as a softball player.

She said growing up being a Hispanic young woman and also a softball player, there was always a part of her that she couldn't completely connect with everybody else that she was playing with or against. Yet, coming to UNI and being a part of the softball program has helped Opiola grow in her heritage.

Opiola has been involved in the Minority Student-Athlete Leadership Team for two years, which has helped her and other minority student-athletes get connected on campus and with each other.

"It's just a safe place where we can create special bonds and friendships."

She said being a part of the group and having different opportunities to connect has been an asset to her as a student-athlete. Opiola said it is nice to be able to form friendships with other student-athletes, even on different teams, because they can share their views and go bond over shared experiences that others might not relate to.

She said her coaches and teammates have also been a big part of the comfortability she has with being a minority softball player. They are able to support her in different ways, like be a part of the Unity Walk and other events she is involved with. Opiola said they also have open conversions about different topics going on in the world, and she feels they want and value her opinion.

"It's kind of just the inclusion of my thoughts and my opinions," she said. "Before it wasn't really talked about, but now my teammates are interested in what I think because they know these things are really important to me."

One of her favorite memories while playing softball here is when UNI went to the University of Arizona and played in a tournament. She said it was one of the biggest crowds she's played in front of and it has been one of the standout moments of her softball career so far.

"It just felt like overall, in every piece of softball that I've done, it reminded me that I can compete with anybody and all of my hard work has allowed me to compete with the best in the country."

With her fifth season coming up, Opiola pushes for other students and players in all areas to accept your identity and don't try to fit in with everyone else, it's important to acknowledge what makes you special. She said there are so many on and off-campus resources, and many people within UNI athletics that want to help, are there for you and want to see you succeed.

We all must continue to educate and be open to different conversations, student-athletes or not. Opiola said it might be easy to ignore social injustices even when living in Cedar Falls and if people continue to fight for a discussion, to learn something new about a different culture, and open their eyes to those around them, we can all make a difference.

"I feel a responsibility through the certain privileges I have to continue to advocate for people who aren't as lucky as me."

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My Story Matters: Adara Opiola

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