Senior Anthony Dias faced more than a change in scenery in his journey from an island to Rome, Georgia. Dias grew up in the Bahamas, and he joined the Darlington community in 2015.

“My life before I came to Darlington was pretty scheduled with playing soccer every day and juggling hours on hours of homework. I had more freedom in a way since I was living at home and not in a dorm room,” Dias said.

Dias is a defensive midfielder for the Soccer Academy, and he has been involved in athletics since his childhood.

“I started playing soccer at the age of 7 in a park 5 minutes from my house as something to do extra, and it was a choice between that and karate. I attempted to do both for a while and decided I really love soccer, and I’m gonna try something with it. I dropped karate and joined a football club two years later and that’s what I’ve been doing since,” Dias said.

Dias plays soccer for the Bahamian National Team, which led him to Darlington.

“I found out about Darlington through fellow teammates on my Bahamian National Team, and I decided to take a visit as I was heavily pursuing a soccer career and thought this was the right move for me. After two visits, I loved the campus and quality of soccer compared to home and made a decision to come to Darlington, which was supported by my parents,” Dias said.

Being at Darlington, Dias has learned many life lessons.

“I think Darlington has taught me a great deal of responsibility and independence which I think will be valuable later on. Also, I have grown up here in a way being a boarding student for the last four years, and I think that speaks for itself,” Dias said.

Dias knows what he wants to do in his future, and he is also interested in going to school outside of the U.S.

“My plans for college consist of going to London to study at Buckinghamshire New University, where I will study Air Transport Management and do Flight School simultaneously,” Dias said.