By Thomas Wilson / Staff Writer 

Students at Missouri Valley College are transferring for a variety of reasons, including athletics, academics and personal factors, as administrators work to improve retention and the overall student experience. 

Ethan Quarchioni, a sophomore soccer player from Bournemouth, England, is one of those students who plans on transferring. 

“I think there are a couple of different reasons,” Quarchioni stated. “I’m not getting what I want from my sport, and when that isn’t panning out like I wanted, then I try to compensate for that in other ways.” 

He cited the adjustment to life in a small community as another reason behind his transfer decision. 

“While Marshall is such a beautiful place, it’s very small-town and far from many other places,” he explained. “When something isn’t working for you, everything else just seems to fall through.” 

He also mentioned a lack of personal development as a reason for his decision.

 “The hardest part about this decision was that I felt like I wasn’t doing anything towards improving myself,” Quarchioni added. 

Defender Thomas Youden, who comes from London, is another senior player who has left the college to find something new. 

“Being in a larger setting and having more opportunities was important to me,” Youden said. “I wasn’t happy with the area, the lack of things to do, and I didn’t like being so far away from home.” 

Youden thinks communication with coaches might have affected him. 

“I might have been told by the coaches that I needed to stay here, but that never happened, and now in retrospect, I feel slightly disappointed about that,” he said. 

Several factors are commonly listed by faculty when talking about student transfers. Adjunct professor Michael Kateman explained that student-athletes and academics are often involved. 

“Those that I have worked with that have transferred usually did so because they were not getting enough play time on their sports teams or the course they wished to study was not offered anymore,” Kateman explained.

However, he stated that assistance is always there; students have to take the lead in seeking it. 

“The professors are always available to help the students and really do care for their academic performance,” Kateman added. “All the students have to do is contact their professors.”