The "Macalester Scotlight" is a special feature series that runs throughout each sports season and highlights individuals within the Macalester College Athletics Department who have a unique story to share.

For many student-athletes, coming in to college as a first-year and learning to balance academics, athletics and college life usually comes with a  bit of a learning curve. But for Macalester senior swimmer Paco Venneri, finding balance as a collegiate student-athlete was a challenge he has been prepared for his entire life, has learned to master while at Macalester and has helped prepare him for any challenge in life.
 
Growing up in Los Alamos, N.M., Venneri was exposed to sciences at a young age and learned that the “world is bigger than just where we live.”
 
But unlike most students, Venneri wasn't just raised in one place. He was also raised in Italy, where both of his parents were native citizens. Growing up, Venneri spent his summers living in Italy and spent school months in America.
 
Venneri's experience growing up in two completely different cultures developed his interest in international studies. Naturally, Macalester was  the best fit for him as it was one of very few places that would allow him to major in both physics and international studies, while also being an active member of many campus organizations and swim competitively at the collegiate level.
 
For Venneri, being raised in two countries while participating in sports is something that prepared him well for the challenges of being a student-athlete in college.
 
“In Italy, there isn't nearly as heavy an emphasis on competitive sports,” Venneri said. “Growing up, I never really did too much of competitive sports until high school. I only got into swimming because my father participated in swimming on a college team. That drive was from an American influence.
 
“There was always a struggle and difference of opinion to do other things in life while still putting your all in for your team, which is something that keeps coming up in college. You have to find a compromise in being successful in sport and successful in other things. I have developed to a point where I can do both and be happy with it.”
 
Venneri has taken full advantage of his time at Macalester to become involved in a variety of organizations and activities while still committing fully as a student and an athlete. Not only does Venneri serve as a captain for the Macalester men's swimming and diving team, he also plays on the men's club water polo team, works in the physics department as a grader and tutor, serves as a member of the senior class gift committee, mentors international students and participates in the gaming society at Macalester.
 
“We meet once or twice a week and play games and it's about as nerdy as you can get on campus,” said Venneri, “but it's fun and I enjoy it.”
 
In addition to his on campus involvement, Venneri is also working to become a licensed pilot for private, single-engine aircrafts. He spends about seven hours a week at the Anoka County Airport flying an airplane with an instructor and hopes to have his license by the end of the semester.
 
Like many Macalester students, Venneri's insatiable desire to learn and take advantage of every opportunity available to him drove him to study Chinese language and politics while abroad at Peking University in Beijing, China, last spring. While studying in China, Venneri developed an understanding Chinese government and learned about the difficulties of the Chinese language.
 
For Venneri though, the greatest take away from his study abroad experience came outside the classroom.
 
“I was able to go backpacking in southern China for two weeks,” said Venneri. “Our program had three or four options of touristy-trips that we could take. A group of us convinced them that we wanted do something  that wasn't for tourists. So, we went backpacking in an area people don't normally see. Most of it was pretty off the beaten track.”
 
The experience of being immersed in another culture helped Venneri gain new perspectives on how to work with others to accomplish tasks and foster relationships.
 
“(Being in China) gave me a different perspective on what's important and how to achieve things,” Venneri said. “I learned that the direct, blunt way isn't always the best way to do things and that developing the relationships you have with people are crucial for maneuvering around things and with people, which leads to a more harmonious way of going about things in life.”
 
Venneri's ability to navigate relationships and understand differences in people has also developed in his role as a captain of the swimming and diving team. Though swimming by nature is an individual sport during competition, Venneri notes the importance of relying on teammates for encouragement and pushing others in order to achieve success as a team.
 
“In competitions, it is true that swimming is an incredibly individual event, but the thought that you have the whole team at the end of the lane cheering you on and supporting you is incredibly valuable in swimming,” Venneri said.
 
“As far as showing leadership on  a swim team, it's the ability to set the example of not going the easy route, but instead taking the high road in competition and practice, as well as outside of the sport. The crucial part is making it so they themselves are pushing themselves to be better, instead of prodding them to do well.”
 
Just as Venneri continues to push his teammates to be better, he continues to work to improve as a student and reach goals he has set for himself. Venneri, who intends to enter graduate school upon graduate school, has already applied to several prestigious graduate programs including the MIT Technology and Policy Program.
 
In order to achieve his post-graduate goals, Venneri knows the lessons he has learned as a Macalester student-athlete about hard work and focus will serve him well in finding his desired success.
 
“My experience at Macalester has given me a sense of focus and has instilled the idea that some things in life aren't easy, especially things that are worth it,” Venneri said. “The more they are worth, the more work they need to actually be accomplished. “
 
Whether it be because of the lessons he learned at Macalester, in China or growing up in New Mexico and Italy, it's clear that Venneri is likely to find success in any avenue of life he pursues because of his collective life experiences and desire to learn from every opportunity he has been given.