Augusta, Ga.- When the Augusta tennis team played their last home matches over the weekend, it was emotional for Andrea Gonzalez. The senior from Mexico broke down in tears after her match finished knowing that her collegiate career had finished. While Gonzalez said she'll still pick up a racket every now and then, the competitive side of the game may now be in the rear view mirror.

She certainly won't be leaving Augusta University empty handed. Other than all the memories on and off the court, she will graduate with honors with a business administration degree with a concentration in supply chain. She's also a budding entrepreneur as her family has started a business back home. 

"This is a small business, it's an all purpose seasoning, based on my dad's recipe," said Gonzalez. "I did the label, I did the marketing and we're trying to grow it. We also have a salsa with more than 20 ingredients." 

It was something that started out just in the Gonzalez household. Since everyone thought it was really good, and could be used in conjunction with a number of other foods, the idea of making it a business started to take off. That's where her education has come in to play.

"I did some accounting with the pricing and the distribution too. Knowing how much of the product needed to be sent to the stores," said Gonzalez. 





Obviously helping every day became a challenge since she was going to school at AU, but she's still doing what she can to help with the family business. 

As for Gonzales, she's still searching for her niche, which likely be in the hospitality field. During one of her classes, representatives from the Masters came in and piqued Gonzalez's interest in event planning.

"I definitely want to stay in supply chain, I'm very interested in that." 

Landing a permanent job hasn't come easy since she is in the country on a student-visa. She has one year left on the visa and that is a concern with some potential employers since many aren't offering the sponsorship she would need. It's been frustrating to her. 

Gonzales is also a triplet. Her brother is currently finishing up school in Missouri and will be moving to New Jersey. Her plan is to join him and look for a job there. 

She's done a lot of growing in her four years at Augusta University. With the entire tennis team made up of international students, they tend to stay close knit since they all can relate to each other a lot easier. Gonzalez was also named team captain and has become the on and off the court leader of the Jaguars, even though she said she's more of the "communicator" for the team.

Now she has the business acumen through her courses and the family business. She also readily admits tennis has helped her considerably in every day life. 

"Tennis has helped me a lot," said Gonzalez. "It's a very individual sport so you have to know what to do on the court by yourself. But also, being away from my family has taught me a lot in every single aspect of life. I'm just super happy to have had this opportunity of being here in the US and being with this team." 

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