Julia Borges

By Bob Rose

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND--If there's one thing you can count on in this world, it's that Julia Borges will not be denied. Perseverance is not a strong enough word to describe her remarkable life story--a life filled with countless challenges and adversities.

UNC Asheville's former All-Big South volleyball star grew up in the impoverished Olaria neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Crime and violence were prevalent in the barrio.

"In many ways, it was hard growing up there," Borges said. "I had to become a mature person when I was very young."

She seldom walked anywhere, instead taking a bus to volleyball practice or the grocery store.

Her UNC Asheville coach and fellow Brazilian Frederico Santos marvels at the fact Borges even survived childhood, let alone attended three Brazilian high schools and three U.S. colleges, graduated with a psychology degree from UNC Asheville and recently launched her professional playing career with VBC Cheseaux in Switzerland's premier pro volleyball league.

"I know exactly where Julia lived and I can tell you, the percentages of her making it out of there were very low," said Santos, whose grandfather once lived in the same area of Rio de Janeiro. "I just love her as a success story. The challenges she faced, sticking with volleyball and having a far-away dream come true. There's a lot to deal with. The reality for kids like her is they probably had to raise themselves. It's a different world, believe me."

Julia and her younger brother (Marcelo, now 17) rarely saw their parents during daylight hours.

Her father, also Marcelo, is a long-time police officer who often works six or seven days a week and even sleeps overnight at his office frequently. After holding down several types of jobs, Julia's mother (Sandra) now owns and operates a bar restaurant in Rio called Miseurebas Bar, featuring many traditional Brazilian dishes such as rice, beans and heavily-spiced meat.

Like most youngsters in Brazil, soccer was Borges' favorite sport growing up. And her superior athletic talents surfaced early, earning her a spot on an elite soccer club when she was 13 years old. However, her parents would not allow her to take a bus alone to the club's training facility, which was located more than an hour from home, and suggested young Julia find another sport to play.

That sport was volleyball. Playing for the Tijuca Club, soon Borges fell in love with the sport. Day and night, it was all she could think about.

"First, I didn't like it," she admits. "I think it was because I wasn't very good at it. It just wasn't fun. But after a few practices, I caught on. I really loved defense more than anything else because blocking was my first skill."

She continued to hone her skills as she entered high school. Little did she know that circuitous journey to become a professional volleyball player was about to begin. High school education is only three years in Brazil and Julia attended a different school each year.

First, she enrolled at Cole gio Pinheiro High School in her own neighborhood as a freshman in 2012. Other private schools soon took notice of Borges' athletic ability and she received a full scholarship offer from Centro Educacional da Lagoa in 2013. After one year there, she received an even better scholarship offer for her senior year from Sistema Elite de Ensino, considered the best athletic high school in Rio de Janeiro.

Her Sistema Elite de Ensino coach utilized his contacts in the U.S. to find a NCAA Division 1 college for Julia to attend. After considering Georgia Tech and Florida Atlantic University, Borges accepted a scholarship offer from the University of San Francisco.

However, there was one problem. She did not speak a word of English.

"I couldn't pass their application process because I couldn't speak English," she said. "I took the tests three times. It was so disappointing."

It was now December of 2015 and Julia's options for college in the U.S. were dwindling fast. Her high school coach suggested she enroll at a junior college, where she could learn the language and acclimate herself to a new country.

North Idaho College, located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho near the state of Washington border, was Borges' landing spot.

"I had no idea what I was doing," she said with a grin. "I struggled at first. I really don't know how I communicated because I didn't even know what I was saying!"

As a frigid winter set in, the warm-blooded Brazilian tackled her new life day by day.

"I had this English class," she recalled. "It was not even English 101. I would go to the class and just sit there. I didn't know what to read in our textbook. A lot of the course was done online, which we didn't have in Brazil. My teacher was really disappointed in me. What he would do is take me through the writing samples and teach me English through Spanish, which we both knew (her native language is Portuguese).

The language disparity, not to mention the snow storms, began to weigh on Julia.

"I wanted to go back home," she said. But my parents told me what a great opportunity it was to go to college in America and I needed to stick with it."

After her volleyball season ended, she was informed by her coach that the program would no longer offer scholarships to its student-athletes. Without financial assistance, Borges knew she needed to transfer to another college.

Longing to return to warmer weather, she emailed the coach at Broward Community College in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He offered her a scholarship on the spot and she packed up her belongings and moved to the Sunshine State.

Another bit of adversity was right around the corner, however. During the 2016 preseason, Borges tore the ACL in her right knee. It meant she would not play volleyball that season.

While a setback athletically, Julia soon found a silver lining in her misfortune.

"That injury really saved me," she said. "It gave me time to learn English and get the credits necessary to graduate.

Once armed with her A.A. degree, Borges began emailing four-year college coaches throughout the country. One was Santos at UNC Asheville.

"She sent me some video," said the coach. "We didn't have to watch much of it. It was clear she had ability, especially a remarkable vertical jump. We offered her a scholarship."

Borges was being courted by other four-year schools, so her subsequent visit to the UNC Asheville campus proved crucial.

"It turned out to be a funny story," said Santos of the visit in January of 2018. "I told her that Asheville had a mild climate, that we may get snow only once a year. Wouldn't you know it, it snowed right when she arrived. She said 'you're trying to trick me!' She didn't even have a winter jacket. But by the end of the visit, she liked what she saw and loved all the people she met. She committed before she left."

Borges immediately burst into stardom on the Bulldogs' volleyball team. She was named second team All-Big South as a junior. As a senior, she averaged 2.99 "kills" per set and led the team in kills (265), points (323.5), total blocks (66) and solo blocks (19), earning first team All-Big South.

One of the reasons that Borges decided to attend UNC Asheville was Coach Santos' Brazilian heritage. His help and mere presence proved immeasurable to Julia's success, both on the court and in the classroom.

"It was just a natural fit for us," said Santos. "We talked about Brazil all the time, how life is like there. I think we both cherished being here and taking advantage of the opportunities. She also appreciated that I had played professionally and internationally. It fit well with her future dreams."

And, of course, both loved one of Brazil's greatest imports to the United States.

"We both share a great love for coffee," Santos exclaimed. "Every time I would see her, I'd ask whether she wanted a cup of coffee. And when she traveled back to Brazil, she would always bring me back our favorite coffee."

While Borges excelled on campus, she also got her fair share of ribbing from her Bulldog teammates.

"It was like a dream to be in Asheville," she said. "My teammates always made fun of me (because she was in awe). We watched so many Hollywood movies growing up in Brazil. It seemed almost surreal to actually be in America."

And what aspect of her new home astonished Julia the most and became her teammates' biggest target?

"Yellow school buses!," she exclaimed. "We don't have yellow buses in Brazil but I used to see them in the movies and on TV shows."

Playing volleyball at UNC Asheville was truly a unique experience for the Brazilian Bomber, too.

"It's completely different here than back home," she said. "There's much more structure, both in the academics and volleyball. The staff and coaches are so helpful and want to see you succeed. And we have access to everything here. I can go to the trainer any time I want. We get full uniforms. Back in Brazil, you had to buy your own shoes, socks and stuff, and that was hard when you had no money."

Now her long-time dream of playing professionally has materialized. She sits in her Lausanne apartment, having participated in practices and exhibition matches for nearly a month. The Swiss National League A season will run from October to April. One of only two non-Swiss on her team (along with American roommate Meg Wolowicz from Northern Illinois University), Borges and VBC Cheseaux will also compete for the Confederation Europeene de Volleyball (CEV) Cup, which will require extensive international travel and is one of the largest volleyball championships in the world.

Her signing with a pro club provided some solace for her parents, who had planned to attend her college graduation in Asheville before COVID-19 cancelled the university's plans.

"It was really sad for all of us," said Julia. "But when I told my mom and dad that I would be signing a professional contract, they were super excited!"

Before Borges set foot on the court with her new team, yet another hurdle of adversity tested her resolve.

"COVID forced me to quarantine for 10 days once I arrived in Switzerland," she said. "I didn't have any place to work out or access to a volleyball court. So my fitness wasn't very good when I was cleared to practice. It didn't take too long to get my breath and feel comfortable, though. So far, it's been great. My teammates are super nice and very helpful, and Lausanne is a very beautiful city."

Santos, her former coach and Brazilian compadre, predicts great things in the future for Julia Borges.

"As a person, Julia has this quiet confidence about her," he said. "She's very in tuned in to what her abilities are. She is such a hard worker and has such potential to keep growing, both as a person and a player. I'm so glad she took advantage of this opportunity. The international level is very competitive with an experienced field. It will be a challenge. But her whole life has been like this. This is just another challenge for her."

And history suggests she'll meet the challenge again. After all, Julia Borges will not be denied.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Julia Borges - Profile in Perseverance

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