We all know that collegiate athletes are recruited for our athletics from across the country, but did you know that our school even has athletes recruited from different continents? After hearing that the softball team recruited a pitcher from Guam, I had to find what brought her all the way to Langhorne. Actually, until talking to her over lunch the other day, I didn’t even know where Guam was.

Learn all about Meagan Maratita below!

How long have you played softball? What sort of teams did you play on?

I started playing softball at age nine. Throughout my career, I played on a little league team that traveled to play against other neighboring countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines. I also played on a travel team, and eventually the Guam National softball team. When I was on the Nationals team I competed against western states such as Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Ohio, and Utah.

Guam is so far and so different from Pennsylvania. What made you decide to come to Cairn?

Honestly, I came because I was recruited to play here. The softball coach was the first person to recruit me and was also the most dedicated to the idea of me coming to play for Cairn. I really did not know much else about the school, except that I could play softball and that it was a Christian University.

What would you say is the biggest difference between Guam and Langhorne?

The weather. Prior to coming to Cairn, I had only ever owned two pairs of jeans; I am used to wearing shorts most of the time. The weather of Guam is typically 80 degrees, so to come to Cairn in January was definitely a change in climate.

Do cultural differences make going to school here difficult?

I am Chamorro so I have a type of culture shock when no one knows what your culture is and having to explain it to people is hard sometimes. For example, I have multiple different foods that I’m used to eating and it is hard trying to explain what it is in a way that will make people here in the states understand so I mainly show pictures. It is also hard being away from family because I am a family oriented person. So I am used to just going to multiple relatives houses that are like 5 or 10 minutes away from me but now I only have two relatives in this part of the US and one lives in Delaware and one’s in Virginia. And I don’t have a car so I can’t seem them as often as I wish I could.

Do you have any hesitations or reservations about pitching for a team that is coming off of a 1-31 record?

Not at all. When in Guam, I played with/against other players who were recruited into D1 schools. I am ready to begin my career here at Cairn and hopefully contribute to a more successful season.