Former FIU Panther Mayara Bordin (Class of 2010) continues to play soccer in her native Brazil, and despite not appearing on the national roster for these 2016 Olympics, has been a member of the full Brazilian national team in her recent past. As the Games are in her home country, she will be among the craziness that descends on her nation.

Despite a multi-national playing resume, Bordin said that playing for the Panthers really helped in her preparation for her career.

"I learned how to respect people and their particularities, and also how to push the people around you, and let them push you as well to make a better team," she mused. "That means every day taking a further step together and not just taking that step by yourself, because you can only win if your whole team is on the same page."

Bordin came to FIU in 2007 after leading Feather River College to a pair of conference championships after recording a Junior College-leading 50 assists that season, and made an impact, playing in 16 games, with 13 starts. After appearing in just six games in 2009 due to injury, she returned as team captain in 2010 to start 20 of 21 games in the defensive midfield and earned Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors, as well as a spot on the All-Sun Belt Conference Tournament Team that season.

"Mayara is a special and humble person, whose self-determination is extremely high," said her coach and current FIU mentor Thomas Chestnutt. "She is a story of what you can accomplish with grit, competitiveness, and commitment. I am so happy as I see her continue to grow as a person. This is what makes coaching so fulfilling. It is seeing those you had the fortune to spend time with doing well in their lives, maturing and realizing their dreams."

After receiving a degree in hospitality management in 2010, she returned to her native Brazil and joined the Foz Cataratas FC to begin her pro career for one year. They finished second in the Torneio Internacional de Clubes that season after winning the Estadual Paranaese. For the next three years (2012-14), she played in Sao Paulo for the Associacao Desportiva Centro Olimpico before a transfer to Sweden and Tyreso FF for a half a season. She made the full national team during that time, training with Brazil as the team prepared for the 2012 London Games. She played in a pair of friendlies against France in 2013 and with the team as they won the Torneio Internacional de Brasilia that year and other tournaments while she was a member.

She has since played with Audax and now with Sport Clube Corinthians Paulista.

As for her future goals, she doesn't leave out the possibility of playing for Brazil in 2020 in Tokyo.

"For now, I am just trying to be the best I can every day," she said. "If I am able to physically handle four more years, I will go for the next Olympics!"

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.