The College Experience of Marcos Dias
By Paula Feitosa
Marcos Dias (’23), a student-athlete at Southern Virginia University, is unlike your average Southern Virginia Knight. Dias is a Brazilian international student; spending several years going back and forth between Brazil and the United States. Throughout these years, Dias spent his time teaching tennis and training to be a professional player. Before Southern Virginia University, Marcos had only trained in Brazil.
While at Southern Virginia University, Dias has been a role model for his team, exemplifying hard work and discipline. He is dedicated to being a high quality player and a high quality student. Dias has maintained a 3.9 GPA throughout his collegiate career while playing tennis and maintaining a job. Marcos says his secret is to “maintain a good routine and schedule and follow it all the way through.” By maintaining a good routine, Dias has been sucessfully ranked top five in NCAA DIII singles-tennis for the United States in the 2020 season.
During our interview, Marcos said his only regret is how he acted during his freshman year. He was too shy at the start of the year and would recommend incoming students to “engage with everyone, make friends, and come with your mind open. Talk with your professors and give yourself the opportunity to have fun and study.”
Dias recommends Southern Virginia University to everyone because of the friendly staff and how much effort they put into helping students succeed. Dias is grateful for the small environment and says it is a big contributor to him being as successful as he has been throughout his time here Southern Virginia.
