In today’s episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of Baldwin girls soccer goalkeeper Adrianna Grande, who has dedicated her time off the pitch to bringing others together.
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Baldwin keeper putting Friendship first
For Baldwin junior Adrianna Grande, inclusivity is the name of the game.
“She’s just so consistently aware of everybody else’s feelings and emotions,” said Baldwin girls soccer coach Christine Chiodo. “People feel safe coming to her and she makes sure she goes out of her way for people who like the spotlight and people who don’t like the spotlight.”
Grande is a goalkeeper on the Fighting Highlanders’ soccer team and plays club ball for Pittsburgh Football Club.
And, while she makes plenty of stops on the field, it was watching her mom help underprivileged kids as an inner-city teacher that has led her to want to make more meaningful saves off of the field.
“There was a kid my mom used to teach and he barely had enough clothes to go to school with. He just had his uniform,” Grande said. “My mom would go out and buy clothes for him, socks for him. After that, I was like, I want to me just like my mom, being a teacher. I want to be there for students and want to make sure I have meaning, helping other kids.”
That’s why Grande is a part of Friendship Circle, a local organization that strives to bring people from various walks of life together by using classes and outings, in hopes of allowing those who may be struggling with isolation, addiction and other family-related crises, to have a safe place.
“We aim to enrich the lives of all participants through mutually adventurous interactions,” Grande said. “Creating last friendships, that’s our main message. Creating friendships.”
Grande has plenty of accomplishments on the field, which have earned looks from college coaches. But she also maintains a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and is an executive board member of Baldwin’s Mini-Thon, which raises money for pediatric cancer.
She is on the Pittsburgh Football Club’s leadership committee and she earned the 2021 Donald Klein Friendship Award from Friendship Circle.
It’s an impressive list of accomplishments for an 11th grader according to Chiodo.
“Covid’s kind of put people back in a corner, or in a closet, or whatever they are in,” Chiodo said. “But I think she’s excelled so much over the last couple of years.”
Now, as a listened-to young voice in the Baldwin community, Grande hopes to get others involved in her charitable efforts, no matter the age.
“Definitely start off small,” she suggested. “I would look up on the internet anywhere you where you can help out. A local food bank, or even an organization like Friendship Circle.”
And it should come as no surprise that she plans on following in her mom’s footsteps after college… Wanting to become a teacher of young, disadvantaged children.
“I’m proud of all of my young athletes,” Chiodo said. “We preach inclusion all the time. It’s one thing to say it and be part of a team who does it.
“But to go out and do it on your own, individually, it’s something special. I get goosebumps talking about it.”