Carlos Souza has balanced being the Saints men’s tennis team captain, having four majors, and maintaining outstanding grades in his two years at Seward County Community College. He does all this with passion. Souza said what attracted him to Seward was that he had a couple of friends who went here and told him he would have a good opportunity here. Souza thinks the opportunity has gone well. “I think I had a really good experience. I had really good support from teachers,” Souza said. Souza is majoring in accounting, finance, economics and administration. “I love economics because it affects the whole world and each single person,” Souza said. After Seward, Souza is going Bethany College in Lindsborg. Souza was able to get tennis and academic scholarships for the school, as he has a 3.96 GPA, and the Bethany College tennis coach contracted Souza to play for the Swedes. Souza has a lot of achievements in tennis and in academics. Souza served as captain this year for the men’s tennis team. “I think he is a good captain, because of his leadership, and he tries to motivate us all the time,” fellow teammate Laercio Lobo said. “He’s friendly as he listens to everybody.” He is graduating with 103 credits and says he has only gotten one B. Souza says he studies for five to six hours a day since he learns more by reading than in class. He is receiving an associate degree in science. Last year, the men’s tennis team won the national academic title, which goes to the junior college tennis team with the highest GPA. Souza is proud that the men’s tennis team will be headed to nationals, which start play May 10. It is the first time that the men’s team have qualified since 2007. Souza is currently ranked 56th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Top 100 National rankings. “I’m glad, because I had to play very well to achieve this goal,” Souza said. Another big achievement for Souza is learning English. When he first arrived in the United States he didn’t know any English at all. He credits going to class and communicating with other students for making a big difference. He also wrote a series of finance columns for SIFE published by the Crusader, ranging in subject such as budgeting tips, credit cards and stock market advice. Souza really enjoyed the project. “He took that whole project by himself,” business instructor and SIFE adviser Kim Thomas said. “I never had to speak with him. He always had them done.” This spring he continued writing his finance columns although he wasn’t in SIFE anymore. Even in the classroom, Thomas saw Souza’s passion for economics. “He challenges me, because he wanted to learn even beyond the classroom.” Thomas has had Souza in a number of classes over the past two years. “I think he has been in every class I’ve ever taught. He is there to learn.” Thomas said. Thomas thinks he has been a great asset. “He is a man of his word, very strong character and takes a lot of pride in his classwork,” Thomas said.