Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu was born and raised in Bellingham, Massachusetts — a town on the north side of the Rhode Island state line. At 12, he moved to Boston, where he continued to live until graduating from Harvard.
Wheeler-Omiunu always had a favorite tea shop. And now he has found himself a favorite spot in Tucson — the Scented Leaf Tea House and Lounge on University Boulevard.
“I love that place,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “They’ve got tea on tap, which I had never experienced before. I never knew that was a thing, but that’s because I never really lived in a really hot climate before. Iced teas, other than the Lipton’s and Arnold Palmer and Southern sweet tea, which I don’t really care for even though I lived in the South – all those things were really just OK to me. I like warm, hot tea. I love iced tea now because Scented Leaf is awesome.”
A favorite spot can go a long way, especially for someone — like Wheeler-Omiunu — who is a long way from home.
Atlanta United drafted Wheeler-Omiunu out of college. He was quickly assigned to Atlanta United 2, the club’s top feeder team. Last season, Wheeler-Omiunu made 10 appearances for the USL Championship side while making one appearance for the MLS club and three appearances during U.S. Open Cup Play for the MLS Cup Champions.
With the exception of a summer stint with the Seattle Sounders U23 team during college, Tucson is the farthest city away from home Wheeler-Omiunu has lived for an extended period of time. The Ivy League grad has noticed one main difference between the West and East: Everything here goes at a slower pace.
In Boston, he said, people always seemed to be in a hurry walking down the streets. Even in Atlanta, especially in the region Wheeler-Omiunu lived in, there always seemed to be a sense of rush.
“Out here, there’s a bit more relaxation about life and a bit, I would say, a bit more reflection of where you’re going rather than what you’re going to do when you get there,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “I appreciate that because I consider myself to be a fairly introspective person. That’s the biggest difference.”
But other than a different pace of life, there’s not much difference between the different places Wheeler-Omiunu has lived.
Throughout his career, Wheeler-Omiunu has sought advice from colleagues and friends who are older and have been in the professional circuit longer. They would tell him what they thought of cities.
When Wheeler-Omiunu found out he was moving to Tucson at the end of January, his friends didn’t have much to say because none of them had spent time in the Old Pueblo. He moved to Tucson with a sense of adventure.
“Yeah, they’re different – some are hot, some are cold – but at the end of the day, people go to cities for a reason because there’s a variety of things to do, a really eclectic things to do,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “It might not have the most specific thing. Like, it may not have the ice cream shop that was down the block from you in Boston where you grew up, but they’ve got ice cream. Deal with it.”
The defender is always looking to improve himself, whether he’s searching for the perfect tea or fixing his singing pitch. Wheeler-Omiunu was part of an a cappella group at Harvard.
He’s thankful for the opportunity he’ll get with the Men in Black. He said the club reinforces values he holds dear.
“We, as a team and as an organization, have pillars of character — or tenants of character — that instruct how to conduct yourself on a daily basis as a person,” Wheeler-Omiunu said. “That’s part of a group, that’s part of a team, that’s part of a collection of people trying to accomplish a singular goal.”
The values of character, personality and moral ethics seem to be the foundation of the organization, and have led to Wheeler-Omiunu enjoying his time in Tucson.
“I always appreciate when I’m a part of something that holds people to a high standard in terms of character,” he said.
Corner kicks
FC Tucson defeated the UA men’s club team 7-0 in a friendly Saturday night.
