Finding community and meaning

A native of Brasília, Brazil, João Vítor Moraes Barreto was drawn to Loyola University Chicago and its Jesuit values. Once in Chicago, he quickly immersed himself in Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business and its call to make a difference in the world.

“We don’t get degrees only for ourselves, we are meant to give our degrees and studies away,” Barreto said. “How can we use this to help others, and to be there for others?”

In recognition of his academic excellence and his commitment to serving others, Barreto was selected as the 2024 President’s Medallion recipient from the Quinlan School of Business.  

Finding a home at Quinlan

Barreto set an ambitious path for himself at Quinlan, triple majoring in accounting, finance, and information systems, and joining the Quinlan Honors Program. It was there that he found his community.

“When I arrived in Chicago, I knew nobody. No friends, no family, nothing,” said Barreto. “Having that honors community built in when I arrived at Quinlan totally changed that experience and allowed me to gain lifelong friends.”

In this community, Barreto fed off the energy of his classmates, driving him to be the best version of himself. He recalls quickly bonding with his classmates in his first honors classes and studying into the early morning.

“I connected with them very early on, and we’ve been together all the way through senior year,” he said. “But it’s not just about the friendship and belonging that comes with it, it’s also the professional growth. You’re in an environment where everyone is a high achiever, and inspires you to go forward.”

As a junior, he was honored to be elected president of the Quinlan Honors Program, a role that was extended to his senior year.

Success outside the classroom

Barreto appreciates the many hands-on opportunities his Quinlan education has provided. One of his favorite Quinlan memories is competing at the business analytics competition hosted by Manhattan College in New York City. There, Barreto and fellow Quinlan students won first place and $5,000 for solving a time-sensitive, demanding problem using data models to predict food safety.

He and his team spent months preparing for the initial problem presented at the competition. After giving an initial presentation to judges, the team had just one night to create a new presentation for a new problem based on the first problem.

“It was a crazy 24-hour experience working on that,” Barreto said. “That weekend was super memorable, and probably the thing I’m proudest of here at Quinlan.”

Giving back to the community

Inspired by the Jesuit challenge to seek God in all things, Barreto has been committed to discerning his motivating purpose. He has found that this helped him make the most of his time at Quinlan.

“There’s so much to do, and you can’t do it all, but if you know what your purpose is, you can decide what will best lead to your desired outcome,” Barreto said.

Starting as a junior, Barreto served as a student researcher for an ambitious Quinlan project supporting Chicago’s minority-owned businesses, which aims to address inequality by strengthening business support systems. Barreto used his information system skills to write code for a project database and dashboard, which are crucial aspects of the federally funded project.

Barreto says working on the minority-owned business project has been a way to help give back to others. He has also given back by tutoring information systems and accounting students.

Now, he’s working to discern his post-college purpose. He has his first job out of Quinlan lined up already: he’ll join Big Four accounting firm KPMG as a tax practice associate after graduation.

“The best thing about Quinlan is having all the experiences I’ve had,” Barreto said. “Looking back, I’m happy I’ve been able to say yes at all those different points.”

Learn more

• Strengthening Chicago’s Minority-Owned Businesses
• BBA in Accounting
• BBA in Finance
• BBA in Information Systems
• Quinlan Honors Program