Scholar Stories: Oliveros is Speedy on the Field and in the Classroom
9/28/2022 9:44:00 AM | Field Hockey, Features
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Absopure.
By Maria Patton
Pilar Oliveros has been a strong force in the backfield for the University of Michigan field hockey team ever since she came to Ann Arbor midway through the 2020-21 school year.
Oliveros is an international student from Uruguay. Her field hockey career began when she was just 6 years old. Her love for and extensive background in the sport, and her desire for a career in engineering, have all driven Oliveros to continue her career in field hockey as a Wolverine. Despite the tough Michigan winters, she is happy with her decision to come here.
"I visited a couple other places, but when I came here, just like the team and knowing that Michigan was going to be so good academically, especially because I'm doing engineering and Michigan has such a strong program, it was because of that," said Oliveros.
Oliveros is all about moving effectively and efficiently, both on and off the field. She is working toward a degree in industrial and operational engineering and business. Her degree in engineering will allow her to pursue many different careers, from working in the automotive industry, to making the lines in amusement parks move faster. But her minor in business is driving her toward a career that will help accelerate the operations of the corporate world.
"I feel like I will do something like retail, where I could help companies to deliver faster and make the customers happier with their purchase," she said.
Oliveros is no stranger to competing at the high level that Michigan's field hockey team plays at. She helped Uruguay qualify for the Junior World Cup for the first time in March. Her experiences on both Uruguay's national team and the Wolverines have helped prepare her for the other. Playing for Uruguay has been beneficial for the mental approach toward her game. Practicing and playing daily at U-M allows Oliveros to build her endurance for when she competes.
"Playing internationally has (helped) me be poised with the ball and I don't really get nervous before the games," she said. "It's like I'm in the game, but I'm not worrying about the game."
Playing field hockey in the United States has come with its difficulties. Oliveros has worked diligently to overcome the language barrier in her classes, socially and on the field.
"Right now, I can handle it better," she said. "But at the beginning, on the field, I couldn't communicate that well because I was thinking in Spanish first. Once I tried to say something, it was like the moment already passed. Now that it is my third year, I can talk more in the backfield because I feel like I'm thinking more in English than in Spanish."
The COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges for international students coming to study in the U.S. Uruguay's experience with the pandemic was not as severe as in the United States before and immediately after she arrived here. Uruguay did not have as many cases as the United States, quarantines were not mandatory and Oliveros' field hockey seasons were not impacted by the spread of the virus. It was a huge transition for her to come to the U.S. and have to practice with masks on and attend online classes. The restrictions on flights caused her parents to not be able to come with her to Michigan to help move her in.
"The team was what helped me through it because my housemates were doing all the things that my parents should have done, like going shopping with me, and getting my room settled and all those things," she said. "What started being hard, ended up being really good because it brought me closer to my housemates and also to the team."
Living away from home, and her family and friends for extended periods of time, also has been a huge adjustment for Oliveros. She goes back to Uruguay every summer and winter break. Her parents also come as often as they can. Their next trip is planned for the Big Ten Tournament in November.
"Back home it's hard because my parents obviously miss me and I miss them and my friends back home, and it's hard to balance the friends here and the friends there," said Oliveros. "But I still like it. And whenever I go back to one of the places, I always have something to look forward to."
She plans to use her Michigan degree by day, improving the processes companies use. But by night, she hopes to continue her career in field hockey.
"I'm trying to make it (field hockey) still be a big part because I want to keep being in the national team for Uruguay, so I have to keep playing," says Oliveros. "What I'm trying to do is find a place where I can still work as an English student in engineering and also play after hours. So work from whatever to whatever and then get to practice after."
Oliveros' quickness is what allows her to be victorious both in field hockey and at the University of Michigan, and her speedy mindset and competitive spirit will, without doubt, continue to drive her toward the athletic and professional success she is striving for.
