This Jack of All Trades Has, in Fact, Mastered Some
As we countdown to Commencement, we’re spotlighting Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ’s outstanding 2024 graduates. Learn more about Percival Sibanda ’24, , and Madison Durfee ’24.
If there’s a student who embodies a well-rounded Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ experience, it’s Tiago Frazao ’24.
He’s a talented student-athlete and one of two captains on the men’s soccer team, where you can find him on the field as a striker or a center-attacking midfielder.
“I wanted to play soccer in college, and had offers from a few different schools,” said Frazao, who hails from Trumbull, Conn. “But as soon as I got to the Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ campus, I knew I wanted to be here for the next four years. The whole team was super welcoming. It was like I had a group of instant friends.”
When the game’s over and it’s time to head to the locker room, Frazao is still hard at work. For his on-campus work-study position, he serves as the soccer team’s manager, helping with scheduling, recruiting, marketing, and social media—a self-described “jack of all trades.”
“Being the team manager is a natural extension of my role as a captain,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but I like it because I can’t sit still,” he said. “I want to be busy.”
Frazao is also a community service ambassador, volunteering with organizations Big Brothers Big Sisters—he helps mentor a fourth-grade student at an elementary school in nearby Gloucester—and a local homeless shelter, where he delivers and serves meals.
“Being involved in the community is a priority for the men’s soccer team,” he said. “Soccer has been a big part of my experience here, but it’s opened doors for me to become involved in other ways as well.”
Academically, Frazao has achieved top grades in his courses for his international business major and Spanish minor, earning him recognition on the Academic All-American Third Team by College Sports Communicators, an association for strategic, creative, and digital communicators across the intercollegiate athletics in the U.S. and Canada.
“One of the biggest contributors to my academic success has been my professors,” said Frazao. “Many of them are people who are currently working in or retired from the business field. They’re able to incorporate their experiences and teach the content that will be the most valuable for us when we ultimately enter the workforce.”
He added: “I’m extremely appreciative of all of the professors I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from.”
His junior year included a study abroad trip to CIS University in Madrid, which was his launchpad for travels across Europe, including visits with family members in their native Portugal. The trip also included plenty of playing time on the field with the Segunda División de la Fútbol Emotion MF7 League.
“You can only really become fluent in a language if you’re practicing it 24/7,” he said. “I was able to advance my Spanish a ton while I was there, and I felt very comfortable walking around on my own and speaking to others.”
He continued: “The courses I took there rounded out my Spanish minor. We went on field trips throughout Spain. We’d learn something in the classroom, and then get to see it with our own eyes. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.”
And internships? Frazao has landed multiple opportunities at organizations including Barnum Financial Group and industry leader , which has completed numerous projects on the Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ campus, including the Samuel C. Wax Academic Center, the Peter Frates Residence Hall, and the Callahan Student Center and Dining Hall.
“I thought I wanted to be a wealth advisor, but my internships helped me learn that I’m interested in real estate development,” Frazao explained. He started as a project management intern with Windover and has now switched to working on pre-construction estimating, which is a lot of work, but “my finance background has been a big help to me,” he said.
Even though he’s graduating this spring, Frazao won’t be leaving the Nest just yet. Next year, he’ll be pursuing his MBA at the Curtis L. Gerrish School of Business. His long-term career goal is to invest in real estate through short-term Airbnb rentals, supporting his dream of exploring the world through international travel.
Four years on from his first campus visit, Frazao has learned that his instinct that Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ would be the best fit for him has proved more than right.
“The campus is beautiful. You can’t beat having three beaches,” said Frazao. “But what stands out to me is how broad the opportunities I’ve received here have been.”
He added: “The people here have made it an unbelievable experience for me. I have a great group of friends I know I’ll be friends with for the rest of my life. They’ve made an already incredible experience 100 times better.”