Ujima Soccer Academy is excited to welcome Sydney Segalla, our new social work intern from the University of Tennessee.
Sydney comes to Knoxville with an impressive background both on the soccer field and on the track. A native of Connecticut, she began playing soccer at age five and went on to play at Boston College, where she served as captain of the women’s soccer team. She graduated from Boston College this past May after also competing in track and field and winning an ACC championship in the 400 meters.
Now Sydney has brought both pursuits to Knoxville. She is pursuing her Master of Science in Social Work at the University of Tennessee while competing for the Tennessee Track & Field team. She hopes to continue developing as a runner with the ultimate goal of competing in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
But it was the opportunity to combine two other passions, soccer and helping young people, that drew Sydney to Ujima.
Ujima has developed a special relationship with the University of Tennessee College of Social Work, which approached us about becoming a field placement site for graduate students. As part of that partnership, Ujima Executive Director Jonathan Haskell completed the College’s Field Instructor Training, allowing Ujima to provide hands-on professional experience for students preparing for careers in social work.
Having a graduate social work intern embedded in Ujima is exciting in itself. Having one who also understands soccer at the highest collegiate level creates an especially meaningful opportunity for our students.
Sydney will spend much of her time working alongside our middle school students, including our girls soccer program. She brings firsthand knowledge of what it takes to compete, lead a team, overcome challenges, and grow through sport. Just as importantly, her social work training fits Ujima’s commitment to helping students succeed well beyond the soccer field.
For Sydney, that combination is exactly what made Ujima such a natural fit.
“My love for soccer combined with my love and career goal of helping people drew me to Ujima. It was the perfect combo of my passions in life. I am excited to see growth in the girls, not just on the field but as people too. I’m really grateful I get to be a part of such an influential time in their lives. I’m hoping to make a lasting and positive impact through the game of soccer, which gave me so much in life.”
That is what makes Sydney’s presence at Ujima so exciting. Our students get more than another coach. They get a mentor who knows what it means to set ambitious goals, work toward them with discipline, lead others, and use sport as a vehicle for something bigger.
And Sydney gets the opportunity to put her social work education into practice in a community where relationships are at the center of everything we do.
We are thrilled to have her on the Ujima team.
For more information on how you can be a part of our team, visit our volunteer page!
