Wrestler Keeps Moving Ahead Despite Challenges
Student Emergency Fund, Center for Criminal Justice Studies, and wrestling team all points of pride for student Diego Escarcega.
Diego Escarcega marks his high school tenure in a unique manner, wins and losses. The four-year period coincided with the four years his mother, Maria Soile Pina, worked to get her documents in order to apply for and earn U.S. citizenship.
The first two years of Escarcega’s college tenure at Buena Vista University have been marked in another series of wins and losses, the time in which his mother has battled cancer.
Escarcega completed his freshman year at home in Amarillo, Texas, as BVU’s campus closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He took courses virtually and worked construction full-time all summer, earning money to help his family remain in its two-bedroom apartment.
He didn’t return to BVU for the Fall Semester, opting to enroll at a college closer to home. Transferring schools kept him closer to his siblings as their mother battled cancer.
“There was pressure on me,” Escarcega says. “I didn’t know if my mom would be OK. I didn’t know if my three younger siblings would be OK. I kept working, and I put everything on God.”
The semester in Texas didn’t sit well with Escarcega, who had previously taken to the growing Criminal Justice/Criminology program within BVU’s School of Liberal Arts. His heart, he says, remained heavy for his BVU friends, professors, coaches, and teammates.
“I had this feeling in my chest that I was stuck in Texas. I wanted to come back,” he says. “My mom wanted me to return; she’s proud of what I’m able to do on my own. Being at BVU makes me happy.”
Escarcega transferred back to BVU, back to his Beaver wrestling program, back to Dr. Richard Riner, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies.
“As a coach, I admire the way Diego has come back with a positive attitude. You can tell when he has challenges, he doesn’t get discouraged. Diego keeps going forward. He works and figures out a way to get things done.”
Mark Rial, Head Wrestling Coach
“Diego goes quietly about his business and is always in class with us,” Riner says. “He is a student we’re rooting for at BVU.”
Escarcega can’t say enough about BVU. He’ll always remember how the University assisted him in a time of tragedy during his freshman year. Escarcega’s grandmother died at her home in Mexico. Through the Student Emergency Fund, a fund fueled by gifts from benefactors, Escarcega was able to purchase a round-trip airline ticket for a flight to and from El Paso, Tex. An uncle met Escarcega and drove him to join many, but not all, of his family members in Mexico for the funeral.
“We have some family members who could not get to Mexico for my grandmother’s funeral, because they feared they might not be able to re-enter the U.S.,” he says. “I am thankful to BVU for being able to get to her funeral and help support my family.”
Escarcega, who had kept in shape while working in construction last summer, earned two pins for the Beavers in his first weekend back in action. He let his mother know of his successes as she did the same.
“My mom is doing great,” he says. “She had surgery and didn’t have to go through chemotherapy. Her leg swells and she has some side effects, but she’s fighting. She’s working. She is supporting our family.”
Doctors told the family that the cancer could recur, but the chances are minimal.
The good news has Escarcega continuing to focus on his BVU path. He returned home this summer to work in construction while remaining close to his family. The work, and his workout regimen, have him excited about his future on the mat and in law enforcement.
“As a coach, I admire the way Diego has come back with a positive attitude,” says Head Wrestling Coach Mark Rial. “You can tell when he has challenges, he doesn’t get discouraged. Diego keeps going forward. He works and figures out a way to get things done.”
“My dream job right now is to be with the Texas State Patrol,” Escarcega says. “If I could keep going even further, I’d like to one day end up in the FBI. I am motivated now to be the best officer I can be.”
Escarcega’s maturity and even-keel approach, one he’s developed while emerging through a series of challenges, is going to work to his advantage, Riner contends.
“In our simulator in class, Diego considers what he can and cannot do in high-pressure situations,” Riner says. “He takes a more reasoned approach and that’s going to serve him well in this profession.”