Anderson Oconee Pickens

Tri-County Student Sets His Sight on Competing in Summer Olympics

CONTACT: LISA GARRETT, 646-1506

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2/4/2004
(By Lisa Garrett)

PENDLETON --- Since he was 12 years old it's been Vignir Stefansson's dream to compete in the World Olympics. This summer he's likely to have his chance. A member of the National Judo Team and the Iceland Olympic Judo Team, the 27-year-old Iceland native will compete in five tournaments this summer, and if things go as planned, he will compete for the Summer Olympics in Athens.

Already a respected athlete in his homeland and ranked high among the top players in Europe, for the last eight years he has been the national judo champion of Iceland. He's competed all over the world, his first win being an international competition, the Ireland Open, when he was 16. Since then he has won many international tournaments and was ranked number one overall in the Scandinavian countries.

Though athletic competitions were a priority, equally as important was a college education.

Vig and his wife, Silja, left Iceland in 2002 for the United States to pursue their degrees. (They are on an F1 student visa). Both are Business Management majors -- she at Clemson and he at Tri-County Technical College -- and they spend their days studying and training. "My wife was noticed by the United States when she competed in a track tour in Chile," he said. (She is two seconds away from qualifying for the 400-meter hurdle track event in the Olympics.) She got scholarship offers from many colleges, and after researching, they decided on Clemson. Vig wanted to enter college also, so he surfed the Internet and found out about Tri-County -- affordable and just three miles from where they live in student housing. "I didn't want to go to a big school and get lost in the system," he said. Although he speaks Icelandic, English, and Danish fluently and spent five years studying French and German, his first semester he worried about the language barrier and took advantage of Tri-County's Learning Lab and Writing Center.

He surprised himself and earned a 3.75 his first semester, which included English 101. The next semester he took 15 credit hours and made straight A's, in addition to being named to the President's List, Who's Who and the honor society, Alpha Zeta Beta.

"I love the personal attention of the faculty," said Vig. "They really go the distance to help. It's been my only college experience, and it's been a great one."

"He is an outstanding student," said Cile Dunkelberg, an admissions counselor at Tri-County. "It's always so fun to have those who adjust, settle in and excel. He is graduating with honors. You can't do much better. Vig has many choices, and he will do well."

He admits when he's not studying, he's training at Fike Hall on the Clemson campus. He formed a club and teaches judo to about 20 men and women several afternoons a week, free of charge.

Although they miss Iceland -- specifically "family, friends, terrain, and the fresh fish," he says, the U.S. is a wonderful second home. "We may stay after graduation and continue our educations or obtain citizenship and find jobs. Moving to Europe is another option," he said.

Right now his focus is on finishing his degree at Tri-County, graduating in May, competitions in Europe and then hopefully on to Athens.

"After years of competition, I have confidence in myself. I only get nervous when Silja competes," he said, smiling.
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