Skating into a business future


Many FIU students have hidden talents. But few can look back and reminisce about life as a world-class figure skater – and have the YouTube videos to prove it.

Luiz Pereira
Luiz Pereira

Luiz Pereira apart, skating under the name Luiz Manella, represented his native Brazil in the Nebelhorn Trophy, and missed qualifying for the Olympics by a whisker. When a series of injuries sidelined his ambitions, he brought the energy and discipline that propelled him to skating’s top ranks to his college career.

At FIU Business, Pereira served on the Dean’s Student Advisory Board and, until recently, worked as a fellow in the SunTrust FIU Financial Wellness Clinic. He also joined FIU’s chapters of ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting) and the Phoenician Investment Fund.

To help connect students with higher math, computing and financial skills, Pereira started a student organization, NextGen Investments, that focuses on finding different trading approaches to financial markets.

Read the full story at BizNews.fiu.edu