by TIM SMITH
She’s the captain of the Bermuda football team and has tasted the glory of trophies and championships in a high-profile career with her college team in the United States.
Yet Eva Frazzoni’s potential for excellence doesn’t end on the sports field.
Ms Frazzoni has spent this summer as an intern at the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), one of the most sought-after career opportunities within the island’s lucrative reinsurance industry.
This has not happened by chance – it’s testament to several years of hard work as Ms Frazzoni has juggled her football commitments with a determination to succeed in her academic life.
“The journey is not easy,” the 24-year-old reflected. “There are going to be times that you sacrifice. Your education should always come first.”
While on a sports scholarship at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, between 2016 and 2020, Ms Frazzoni won the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer East Region. She has also starred in Bermuda’s midfield during two Concacaf qualifying campaigns.
But while football has provided exhilarating thrills, Ms Frazzoni also had to live up to expectations within the lower key setting of the classroom to complete her bachelor’s degree in political science.
“I had the pressure of high grades from my family.
“It’s OK to know you are not going to be perfect. There are days when instead of getting 90 on a paper, you get 85, because you have been so dedicated to football. Everybody has overwhelming days. But you have to reach a certain standard of grade in order to play.
“You find a way to make it work. You are going to get to a point where you are at a standstill – you have a game, also you have a class. It’s your responsibility to make up for that class.”
Football has created unforgettable moments in places such as South Africa, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and across America.
“The amount of opportunity I’ve had is just so fortunate,” she said. “I owe everything to my parents. I’m very fortunate to have supporting parents who have pushed me to do all that.”
Ms Frazzoni’s journey began with a sports scholarship to finish high school at IMG Academy in Florida. She is now studying for a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Essex in England, on another sports scholarship through the Play Overseas agency.
Looking back, however, she believes she could have pushed for more on the academic front at an earlier age.
“I always thought insurance and reinsurance wasn’t for me. I kind of ran away from it,” she said.
“I applied for the ABIR internship and got it – now I realise there’s a place for me. There’s so much room to grow.
“I do regret looking back now, knowing the opportunities that I could have applied for myself, that could have helped my parents more.”
Ms Frazzoni is keen to offer advice to any Bermudian students setting out on the path to get sports scholarships. She can be contacted on [email protected].
