As a child in Brazil, one of the certainties is that at one point in your life you will become involved with the beautiful game one way or another. Either playing in gyms, streets, or even full 11v11 fields, a ball was going to be at your feet. Joao Pedro Soares was one of these children that played a version of the beautiful game that Brazil has made a staple known as Futsal. Playing in reduced numbers of 5 v 5 on a 40 by 20 yard pitch on either a concrete or hardwood surface, Soares began to fall in love with the game and felt that it would be an important part of his life. While Joao saw the importance of the game in his life he wanted to pursue a career and valued education to the fullest. Before his freshman year in HS, his family saw the possibility to send their children to the US to learn the language but to more importantly prep for the next step which was college. Joao attended Celebration HS while his brother Davi attended Montverde Academy. While Joao got to experience the American High School environment at Celebration, his family and friends support encouraged him to join Montverde Academy and also the SIMA Program.

Life is an ever changing phenomena that has obstacles and new challenges to overcome every day. After speaking with family and friends, Joao saw it was time to make a change towards the end of his first year in HS and made his way to Montverde Academy. A school that was geared towards prepping students to continue in a rigorous college environment.  Another major change was that he was going to be joining a program that was 11v11 based soccer in SIMA. This meant a whole new type of training style, a new set of rules and a whole new field size. “I was surprised by the level that I saw in the SIMA Program” , stated Soares that in his first year with the program played with SIMA Purple to ease into things but was able to show that he was capable of much more as he found his place with the solid technical base that he developed in his formative Futsal years. After adapting both on and off the field to all the changes, Joao started seeing little by little his progress as he moved up year by year from playing with Coach Pedraza to even playing with the second morning team with Coach Varnado. In his Junior Year he saw college soccer becoming a bigger possibility as he generated interest from a couple of programs. In the back of his mind, Joao was always looking for a place where he could have the best academic experience. Being very patient with his process, Joao spoke to Boston University halfway into his second semester in his Senior year and felt that their great staff , trust in the rebuilding process and great academics was the best choice.

After signing with the Terriers, Joao wasn’t able to debut straight away due to the world’s problem at the time: the COVID 19 pandemic. “It was a time that tested me both physically and mentally.” Soares took the challenge personally and knew that once the pandemic would permit it, he would be ready to go. When the shortened season came around, he started and played every minute in every match. In his Sophomore year came around, he played in 10 matches while earning a Patriot League Academic Honor Roll mention. Just as his freshman year tested him both mentally and physically, his Junior year was cut to one appearance due to an injury which sideline him for 3 months. He still was able to show what he was capable of off the field as he again earned a Patriot League Honor Roll mention. In his Senior Year, just as a well written script, Joao and the Terriers captured their first Patriot League Conference title. He was able to play in 10 matches during their championship campaign. 
 

Joao proudly graduated with a BSBA In Finance where he found his calling in investment banking through his friends investment club. 
 

Joao is now an Investment Banker back home in Brazil and will now be working at IGC . He would like to move into the private equity side of investment banking in the future. 

When asked about some words of wisdom, Joao stated that you must do the work. “Prioritize responsibility over pleasure, just put your head down and do the work.” 
 

The SIMA values that he uses in the real world is recognizing the importance of accountability and discipline and states that SIMA helped with building habits for the work that he does today.