2018 Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award finalist: Paula Gomes, Gulf Coast

Paula Gomes and her family moved from Brazil when she was 8.

"We've been very tight knit," she said. "We came to a new place and had to learn a new language. My parents sacrificed so much to be here. I wanted to make sure that everything I did would be so that sacrifice would be worth it.

"They brought us here for opportunity," Gomes said.

Gomes has taken advantage of that opportunity.  And excelled, as evidenced by her being Gulf Coast High School's Winged Foot Scholar-Athlete Award finalist.

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"Paula's story embodies what we love about our community and our country," Gulf Coast coach Mark Pembroke wrote in a recommendation letter. "She spoke no English. Yet, she worked hard, studied hard, and competed as hard as she knew."

The four-year varsity soccer player picked up cross country and distance running in track as a junior, and that is carrying her to the University of Chicago to compete on the track team and possibly in cross country.

"I played soccer and I absolutely loved it, and did it with my sister as well," she said. "It's in the Brazilian culture. I automatically fell in love with it."

She started running track and cross country to get in shape for soccer. Then something happened.

"Once I started track, I realized how objective it was -- you know you had a good race by the time," she said. "There's no politics involved. I really enjoyed running. I know most people don't. That's something I really enjoyed doing."

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Even when it became too much for her body. Gomes has dealt with knee tendinitis for the past two years.

"I think it's just because I haven't had an offseason since I was 8,, which I've loved, but my knees haven't," she said.

But like everything else academically and athletically, Gomes has learned to stay at the top of her game.

"It taught me patience," she said. "Sometimes I need two weeks off and I need to not go out and run miles and sit down, which is really hard for me to do, but we have to."It is tough with running because you don't have any other tools, it's just your body. I have learned how to become a better athlete because of it and how to deal with pain and how to listen to my body, which is an important thing."