By Craig Craker for NNUSports.com

One of the hardest things about transferring to a college is making friends.

You weren't there for that first year living away from home, bonding with new classmates as you start to learn what it is like to be an adult.

You weren't there for the non-core classes where you meet folks from across campus or when you sit in the cafeteria and complain about the food.

Luckily for Jorge Gonzalez, though, he had a built-in community when he arrived in the fall of 2023 to play soccer for Northwest Nazarene.

"Being here as an international student, (NNU) tries to get you involved with the community with things like international dinners so you don't feel like you are away from home," said Gonzalez, who is from Guadalajara, Mexico. "On the men's soccer team, we have 10 international students. We are all in a community where we feel part of it and I think that is really good for us."

Gonzalez, a senior majoring in global business, plans to pursue his master's degree in Nampa next fall so he can have another year of playing soccer. He credits his smooth transition into life at NNU to the group of Spanish-speaking players on his team.

During the defender's first year on campus, he lived in an apartment-style dormitory, sharing space with teammates Jona Cardona, Pablo Gonzalez and Alan Soto.

The group bonded over video games, watching soccer, listening to Hispanic music and home-cooked meals.

Gonzalez met Cardona on his official visit to NNU in the spring of 2023 and the pair became fast friends, even riding together with Cardona's dad from San Diego to Nampa on a 20-hour road trip last fall.

"At home, every Sunday, my mom would make us clean and blast Hispanic music," Cardona said. "So that is what we did in our apartment because it felt normal. Speaking Spanish every day in our apartment just felt comfortable and being surrounded by three teammates who know where I come from and how I live – that made it easy to live with them."

The group doesn't live together this year, but the bond they formed has paid off on and off the field.

"It helps a lot on the field with team chemistry," Gonzalez said. "We can understand each other and how to communicate. Even the guys from the United States sometimes speak Spanish and they really try to help you understand the culture and the language. It really feels like family here."

Gonzalez and Cardona have also leaned into the Hispanic community that calls the Treasure Valley home, visiting Hispanic-owned businesses in Caldwell and attending cultural festivals.

Some of Gonzalez's family friends from Mexico live in Nampa and they would take him and his friends to events in town just to give him a break from school.

"That has helped me get out of my routine," Gonzalez said. "Being a student-athlete takes a lot of time. You go to practice, then class and exams – so, sometimes getting out of that routine is really good for me. Meeting new people is fun and the Hispanic population here is great."

The Nighthawks men's soccer team currently has about 10 Spanish-speaking players, though according to coaches that is more random than on purpose.

Former Nighthawks star and current assistant coach Julio Castillo helped recruit Gonzalez and Cardona and acts like an older brother at times for the Spanish-speaking athletes.

"We recruit players from all over the world, but in recent years it's been a coincidence to have more Spanish speakers than other languages," Castillo said. "I think it is very important to be able to have a community where players can relate to others. The fact that language can be a common factor makes it better for them to be able to express themselves and feel comfortable for many reasons, but most importantly, to make them feel at home."

No matter if you are a transfer student like Gonzalez or a four-year student like Cardona.