Firebird Spotlight - Bruno Reich, Senior, Men's Tennis

Personal:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is home to this senior who is majoring in Business Management.   Bruno describes himself as “responsible” and “organized” and says he often contemplates his future and his career. He sees an interest in managing people early on.  He has a vision – through hard wark - of owning his own business once he gains experience and cash reserves.  Bruno started playing tennis at age 8. Like many in Brazil, he also played soccer. “Everyone plays soccer in Brazil”, Bruno joked.   Bruno’s parents encouraged him and his sister to play organized sports. 

Washington, D.C.:

Bruno carefully considered his options when transferring from a college in California.  He described his ideal college as one with a city environment – but not as big as New York - where he could see people living, walking around, going to work, etc.  Bruno described Washington as a city that functions well in terms of transportation.   He appreciates the fact that there are people from all over the world at the University of the District of Columbia, and he believes its staff cares about students.   Among many quality professors Bruno has had the pleasure of learning under, his faculty favorite is Professor Jason Stiles, who taught Organizational Behavior.  Although it was an evening class, Bruno maintained that even after a long day, he still found himself interested in the subject matter because Professor Stiles consistently connected with students and made the material easy to understand.

Favorites:

Bruno said he regularly communicates with his long-time girlfriend and continues to get constant love and support from his family.  He enjoys movies of all genres, but particularly likes dramas.  Bruno loves pizza, sushi and chocolate.  He is a lover of nature and likes to cook for others.  During the academic year, he primarily eats chicken and pasta.

Before the match, you can always find Bruno listening to music. He prefers to take a relaxed approach to tennis.  “When I am relaxed, I am most focused,” Bruno insisted.  He does not like to talk pre-match as he views tennis as “very mental.”  Due to his physical and mental preparation, he considers himself the type of athlete who does not need to get “pumped up” because he is prepared.  Bruno focuses on the mentality: “I can do what I want.”  When he has a difficult moment on the court… “I always walk slowly to my towel to slow down, and I tell myself to be calm, patient and focused.”   He feels that, even worse than losing, is the feeling that you did not give 100%.  His favorite memory from his short but illustrious career at UDC is from this year’s match vs. the Firebirds’ East Coast Conference nemesis, Queens College. When these two ECC heavyweights met at UDC this year, he won his match in the tie breaker as a result of not panicking when he fell behind early. 

Advice:

“Be organized.  If you’re not, you will forget things.  Be focused – ask yourself, why are you here? What are your priorities?  Take things step-by-step.  In hard moments, when there is lots to do – it is all doable.  Never think any opponent is too good.  Like a chess game, everyone has a weakness – it’s up to you to understand your opponent’s game.”