Montreal is the second largest city in Canada and home to many wonderful things. Montreal is home to the Olympic Stadium, the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Impact, and many other great sports teams and historic venues.

However, to California University of Pennsylvania freshman Kira Goin, it’s so much more than any sport team. Montreal, which is an 11 hour drive from Cal U, is her home, where she grew up, and where she left a few weeks ago to make her way to California, PA. Goin came to Cal U for both the academics and as a participant on the school’s swim team.

Goin did not have a swim team at the high school she went to in Montreal, however she was involved in the local swim clubs. She loved going to school right in the city of Montreal. “Going to a school in the middle of the city was awesome. It made my three hour breaks bearable because there was always so much to do, whether it be eating at the many restaurants available or shopping,” Goin said with a smile. She said that there aren’t any major differences about going to school in the United States, except that in Montreal some of her surroundings and classes were in French.

What drew Goin to Cal U was not just the swim team, but also academics. Goin is a tourism major and decided to major in it because “I’ve always been interested in the industry and I’ve always had a strong desire to travel the world.” Goin noted that she loves Cal U because “it is small, has my top major, the food is good, and the swim team, of course.”

Goin’s personal goals for the swim season is to do her best, have fun, to meet new people, and learn new things. The season hasn’t quite started for the team, but Goin said her teammates seem “really cool and I look forward to training with them.” The Vulcan swim team will be participating in upcoming friendly swim matches, but their official season starts on October 24 at South Euclid, Ohio against Notre Dame (Ohio) and Wheeling Jesuit University.