Life@Kaplan: David Villa drops in on Kaplan students in New York

World-famous soccer star David Villa – or football star, as he was known before moving to the United States – dropped by our New York Empire State school this month to meet 13 lucky students.

Villa is the captain of New York City FC and former striker for Barcelona. He has been on multiple international title-winning teams, including the 2010 World Cup champion Spanish team, and is Spain’s all-time top goal scorer.

Villa signed with New York City FC in 2014. He has been working on his English and has been studying with Kaplan in New York, and previously in Melbourne, Australia. He’s also stopped by our Manchester, UK school after a pre-season match.

Our Empire State students were thrilled to get a chance to meet the international star. They were more than just lucky, however. The students selected had one a competition sharing photos and stories about why they loved studying in New York.

“It was awesome!” said Kwanhyung Park, a student from Korea. “Soccer is my favorite sport and he is one of the best strikers in the world. I’ve always respected him and Kaplan gave me a chance to meet him!”

The students got the chance to talk with Villa (in English!), take photos with him, and get autographs. They were amazed at how friendly he was, modest and unassuming despite his fame and success.

“He is Spain’s best player and a very nice guy!” said Leonardo Amaral, a student from Brazil.

The students talked about sports, about his career and their home countries. Some even played messages from jealous friends back home. For Carlos Gutierrez from Mexico, it was “…an amazing experience. Once in a lifetime!”

All were very happy and pleasantly surprised to have a meet-and-greet like this to complement their studies. As Dasom Lee from South Korea put it, “I knew Kaplan was the best international English school… but I didn’t expect to meet David Villa!”

Get a behind the scenes look in our video:

http://youtu.be/5x9z-NyCDBw

 

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