April 18 - Cassie Smith (she comes from a large, ethnically-diverse family)
April 21 - Makenna Sullivan (she is a Leap-Year Baby)
April 28 - Kacy Eckley (she used to be one of the top youth golfers in the country)
May 5 - Annika Pater (she was a basketball star in high school)

RICHMOND, Ky. – Over the spring and summer, we will be profiling members of the Eastern Kentucky soccer team. Next up: rising sophomore Monica Rios.
 
Monica, a nursing major, is from right up the road in Lexington, Kentucky - but did you know she was born in Puerto Rico?

EKUSports: Where were you born in Puerto Rico?
 
Monica Rios: I was born in Ponce, but I lived in San Juan, which is the capital of Puerto Rico.
 
ES: Cool! How long did you live there?
 
MR: Four years.
 
ES: Are your parents Puerto Rican?
 
MR: Both of my parents are Puerto Rican. In fact, my whole family is Puerto Rican.
 
ES: Why did they move to the States?
 
MR: Jobs. They both got good jobs at the prison in Lexington.
 
ES: Do you have any siblings?
 
MR: I have a little brother; but he was born here in Kentucky, not Puerto Rico.
 
ES: Do you remember anything about your time in Puerto Rico?
 
MR: I do remember the ocean, because we had a boat and we were always taking it into the ocean. I remember our house. And I remember there were lizards everywhere. I loved them. My mom, actually, used to hook them on to her ears for fun. She said it didn't hurt!
 
ES: She hooked live lizards on to her ears?
 
MR: Yeah! She loved playing with them.
 
ES: Incredible. Do you still have family in Puerto Rico?
 
MR: Most of my family still lives in Puerto Rico.
 
ES: Have you been back to visit them?
 
MR: I have actually never been back. I'm going back this winter, though, and I'm really excited.
 
ES: Have you and your family maintained any of your Puerto Rican culture since coming to America?
 
MR: Yeah, we still eat a lot of Puerto Rican food and we celebrate Puerto Rican holidays, such as Three Kings in early January. Although, we don't necessarily celebrate it like they do in Puerto Rico, because in Puerto Rico it's a lot of partying. We just chill, relax, exchange gifts. It's basically like I get two Christmases in a row!
 
ES: I'm jealous. 
 
ES: Do you speak Spanish?
 
MR: I speak Spanish fluently. I actually didn't speak English when I got to America. I just learned by talking to people.
 
ES: Do you and your parents speak Spanish to each other in day-to-day talk?
 
MR: Well, we speak 'Spanglish', which is basically a combination of both languages.
 
ES: Fair enough.