Anelisse Torrico Moreno brought her passion for tennis with her from her hometown of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The senior found a love of business at Missouri State, where she majors in Accounting, with a double minor in Finance and Spanish. 

Missouri State has something extra

She has had played tennis all her life in Bolivia and one day the Missouri State tennis coach contacted her to offer her a tennis scholarship. After the offer, she started doing research about the university and she liked that Missouri State does some things that other universities don’t, like the Public Affairs mission.

Being involved and creating new opportunities

Other than playing tennis, Ane keeps herself busy doing on-campus activities. She was part of the SAAC Student Academic Athletic Committee where she was involved in decision-making matters to benefit the student-athletes at the university. She has also been involved with the Association of International Students ever since she arrived at the university in 2015 and now she holds a position in the executive board of the organization. Right now Ane, along with other friends, is starting a UNICEF campus initiative to raise awareness about what this organization is and how they can contribute.

Tennis champion and dedicated student

Last year Ane and her team won the Missouri Valley Conference. This was very special for them because the team hadn’t achieved this since about 15 years ago. She is the first generation that brought back the tennis program to the university and that made it even more special.

Academically, she feels that she’s succeeded because, despite all the time spent in practices, games, being involved in campus organizations, she expects to graduate in December with a GPA higher than 3.5.

Giving back and connecting students

She is involved with the Springfield community in several ways. With the Association of International Students, as the Public Relations officer, her goal is to connect international students with the community through different activities like building partnerships with local businesses and organizations. With the tennis team, she has been able to be involved in the community by doing volunteer work in nursing homes, cleaning streets, and several other activities to help the community.

24/7 passion

When we asked Ane “how do you follow your passion and MSU?” she immediately replied, “I think a better question is how I DON’T follow my passion at MSU?” She mentions that every single thing she does at the university is involved with her passions. She is extremely passionate about tennis so by going to practices and giving her 110% at the games she is following her passion. Another of her passions is to help people and she has been able to achieve that by being involved with AIS guiding new international students and helping them to create a family away from home.

Future plans

After graduating in December she plans to the Optional Practical Training (OPT) for 6 months or a year and then pursue a masters degree in Project Management.

Advice to future #InternationalBears

“Get involved with the community and don’t be scared of interacting with them. There are many nice people in Springfield always willing to help and to learn more about you and your culture.”