TRAILBLAZER SPOTLIGHTS
Learning to Lead Beyond Ordinary on the Tennis Court and in the Marketplace
“One thing athletes have in common is drive. The drive to not be ordinary,” he said. “It’s motivating, but the most rewarding thing is being able to have an impact on other people’s lives in the process.” The sport also opened the door for Vieira to share his faith.
Fred Vieira and his wife, Hannah, and their children Theo and Emilia, have adapted to life in Wisconsin.
Fred Vieira’s (’13, ’15) path to success started in Brazil. Gifted in tennis and hoping to jump start a career
in business, Vieira made the move to Tigerville, where he began to understand his calling. “At that time, I wasn’t an American. I didn’t understand what I had around for me, but as a Christian, I knew what kind of environment I wanted to be in,” he said. “I knew I wanted to find a better balance between athletics and my education.” On the tennis court, Vieira was competing at a high level, helping the team win an NCCAA National Championship in 2011.
“I was blessed with the opportunity to be the one that clinched the final point, he said. “It was a very cool experience for me.
“My junior year, I was able to serve at the school as number one for singles and doubles and be the captain. It was a lot of responsibility, but it was nice as well. It forced me to go into a growth mindset,” Vieira added.
Tennis became a vehicle through which Vieira would learn a lot of important lessons about leadership.
“The biggest responsibility I felt while playing was being able to share the gospel with my teammates. I knew that some guys may not be believers or maybe they were new believers. I was in a position to influence them, whether positively or negatively,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s not on me to change their lives, but I knew I wanted to be planting seeds because I was part of that process for them.”
Vieira graduated with a business degree in 2013, also earning a Master of Business Administration degree from NGU in 2015 while serving as a graduate assistant with the tennis team. Vieira’s drive to not be ordinary propelled him into what has already been a successful career, as he now leads the brand marketing department for Milwaukee Tools’ Latin America division. “In the first 16 months here, I learned more than what I learned in eight years at my previous job,” he said. “That comes with a price tag. It’s long hours and more pressure. But it also compounds growth. Every month you’re trying to get even better, very similar to what athletes go through. It’s been great.” Vieira credits the experiences he had at NGU with guiding him through the early stages of his career. “I think I was one of the crazy students that really enjoyed Dr. (Jon) Boulet’s class and the five-hour tests,” he said with a laugh. “I remember that I would get to the test with a big water bottle and he would joke about it.”
“I think when you’re in college, you think you know a lot of things, but in reality, we have perceptions of a lot of things,” Vieira said. “The best advice I can give a student today is to try to gain perceptions from other people. That can be done through different internships or shadowing someone else. Try to have hands-on experiences. Try to have applications of theory into real-life professions. That way you can strengthen your own perspective.” ◆
Faithful Worship Journey Noyes Turns Musical Calling into Ministry Adventure
“This has been the wildest adventure of turning dreams into reality.”
Those reflections are from Joey Noyes (’23), who graduated from NGU with a degree in music worship studies.
Noyes, who entered full-time ministry as a worship leader for Redeemer City Church in Greenville, SC, said he has felt God work through him as he pursued his calling.
“I have gotten to see the Lord speak and move directly in my life,” he said. “I have constantly been challenged to love the Lord more and in new ways. As a result of that, I have gotten to sing and make music for others that leads to greater worship.
While making music is now his passion, Noyes hadn’t always dreamed it would be his career path. “I grew up with a love of listening to music but had a greater love of playing baseball. I didn’t start truly singing and playing instruments until my sophomore year of high school. I knew I had to step out in faith because of the Lord specifically calling me into it,” he said. “Since then, the Lord has given me countless opportunities to steward my musical gifting through different leadership opportunities and various music groups.”
“Through the many different opportunities NGU provided me, I got to see the fruit of ministering to the Lord and his people.”
Noyes love for leading worship grew at NGU. “I grew to understand what it looks like to play music, not for myself or the sake of my ministry, but for the Lord. Through the many different opportunities NGU provided me, I got to see the fruit of ministering to the Lord and his people,” he said. “I was blessed with brothers and sisters that pushed me in this same desire, people who also grew to understand the love that the Lord has for us and how we get to bring our life and our love back to him.”
“Since graduating, I have gotten to steward my music gifts in new and various places,” Noyes continued. “There has not been a lack of opportunities and ways to serve the Lord and his church since graduating and it is always an adventure seeing the next place the Lord will lead me.”
Noyes said he is excited to see how his platform will be used to bring glory to God.
“I think as I look forward to the future, I know the Lord will continue to take me on adventures of getting to follow and trust him. There are now so many new things that I want to learn about in my new job, learning how to grow people’s hearts for worship, but also how to grow their skills and excitement to make music for the Lord,” he said. “But I am always excited for new opportunities that get laid in my path with new friends and with new styles of music. It’s forever a never-ending journey with him.” ◆
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