written by Augusta University student Jaylan Hayes
Junior tennis player Enzo Garutti always had a dream of coming to America from Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil for the sport he loves. To make this dream a reality he would sit in his room for hours to teach himself English.
"I just started studying English by myself because at the at that time, the economy in Brazil was down. I started teaching tennis lessons to get some money to pay for the test needed. Then I studied English seven hours a day," said Garutti.
When first arriving at Augusta he admits his English wasn't the best but as he's spent time here and engaged in conversations, now,,he's almost completely fluent.
Garutti had many options to choose from for school but he's happy he picked AU and gets to experience life in the south.
"I think among the offers I received it was the best one that I got. I just felt like in my heart, that it was supposed to be," he said.
While he has been loving it here, there really is no place like home. Garutti has always been close to his family, and it has been a challenge being so far away from them.
"I'm not going to lie it's very tough you know, sometimes I wake up and I'm missing them a lot," Garutti said.
Luckily his family did come to visit him last summer and he got to show them around. Garutti will also be going home for the Christmas break, and he couldn't be more excited. Because yes, he misses his family, but he really misses the food.
"The Brazilian food. Oh, my God. It's the best. Sorry if this hurts but the quality from Brazil, it's better you know," said Garutti.
Garutti does have some favorite places he likes to eat around here including Panda Express, Chipotle, Krispy Kreme and Chick-fil-a. He mainly eats at these places on weekends when he can have a cheat day from his normal healthier eating habits.
Garutti loves to go to the gym in his free time, even when he doesn't need to be there, he enjoys a good workout. He also reads, plays video games, and still enjoys playing soccer.
Growing up Garutti not only played tennis but soccer as well. In fact, to this day, he prefers to watch soccer games over tennis when he can. But it came to a point where he eventually had to chose which one he wanted to focus on.
"I think I chose tennis because it's individual. And I'm that competitive guy, you know. I always have been that, very disciplined and focused guy," he said.
When coming to America Garutti had to adjust to the fact that there are no clay courts here. It was a challenge to adjust to at first.
A challenge he happily accepted and while he might miss it now, he's still performing his best on the courts here.
One of his favorite memories here so far was during his freshman year. It was the match he won playing against North Georgia in the semifinals. The team's score was tied at three and his match decided who would advance.
"I lost the first set and then I came back with a win in the second and third set. When I won that match, I just fell on the floor, and everybody came to hug me. This was a huge moment for us because I think it had been eight years that Augusta didn't win a round in the conference," he said.
This will be a moment Garutti, and his teammates will always remember. With his third season coming up in the spring he's hoping to have even more similar moments.
While tennis got him where he is now, Garutti still takes his school seriously. While he plans on playing professionally, he knows it is smart to have a degree as a backup. He's majoring in business administration with a double major in financial services and marketing.
He wants to be the best version of himself and is always willing to learn how to be that person. He's a guy with a good heart and he wants others to know that as well.
