Pioneers
![Nick and Vinny Curta cheer from the bench](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/20170208.mbb_.knox0133%20WEB.jpg?itok=JUaIkVHy)
“Academics was first and foremost in my college search,” Nick Curta ’17 says. “I’ve been lucky enough to grow to 6 feet 6 inches and have some ability on the basketball court, but the academic environment of Grinnell really attracted me. Everybody here wants to learn, and everyone wants each other to succeed.”
![Nick and Vinny Curta cheer from the bench](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/20170208.mbb_.knox0133%20WEB.jpg?itok=JUaIkVHy)
“Academics was first and foremost in my college search,” Nick Curta ’17 says. “I’ve been lucky enough to grow to 6 feet 6 inches and have some ability on the basketball court, but the academic environment of Grinnell really attracted me. Everybody here wants to learn, and everyone wants each other to succeed.”
![Ibuki Ogasawara attempts a field goal](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/magazine-feature-images/Ibuki%20WEB%20975x455.jpg?itok=ps3EDo2b)
Being part of the Pioneer experience inspires kicker Ibuki Ogasawara ’17.
![Joshua Tibatemwa ’19](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/magazine-feature-images/Josh020%20975x455.jpg?itok=xKSoEu3l)
It would have been enough for Joshua Tibatemwa ’19 to be Grinnell’s first modern-era Olympian.
![Greg Wallace sitting at his desk](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/20160219GregWalace003%20975x455.jpg?itok=3MHKZmLK)
For the first 20 of Greg Wallace’s 28 years at Grinnell, he was head football coach. He has also coached golf and baseball, and he is an associate professor of physical education.
![Vrishali Sinha ’19 and Vidushi Sihna ’19 Vrishali Sinha ’19 and Vidushi Sihna ’19 in matching Grinnell shirts end their swings](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/20151104twingolfersMAIN.jpg?itok=yIxt0ull)
Vrishali Sinha ’19 and Vidushi Sinha ’19 ruled Midwest Conference golf this fall.
![Delia Salomon swimming through small waves with a boat in the background](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/Delia%20Salomon%202000x933.jpg?itok=lF2TlL2k)
Delia Salomon ’14 started her attempt to swim the English Channel from Dover, England, in the dark of night. At hour 10, she was “quite shocked” to have France already in sight.
![Isaiah Tyree ’15 with the 2014 men’s soccer team](https://magazine.grinnell.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300x200/public/JHAY7619%20WEB.jpg?itok=AqIVSbWD)
In spring 2014, Isaiah Tyree ’15 made a name for himself, literally, while trying his luck at soccer forward. Our team affectionately referred to him as “Torres,” after Spanish striker Fernando Torres, Tyree’s favorite player.