The Goizueta alumnus and new Alumni Board president draws on his journey from scholarship recipient to community builder to help others find their place.
When Willi Freire 19BBA moved from Brazil to South Florida as a child, he spoke no English. For the first few months, he came home from school in tears, frustrated by his inability to communicate. But he picked up the language and excelled academically.
His parents couldn’t afford college tuition. “You’ve got to do the best you can to try to get a scholarship,” they told him.
Freire assumed he’d attend a state university. But a high school counselor introduced him to QuestBridge, a nonprofit that connects high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds with leading colleges and universities. Freire became a QuestBridge finalist and was selected to interview for Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Scholarship, which he ultimately received.
The scholarship made an Emory education financially possible and introduced Freire to opportunities he hadn’t imagined. He met students from different cultures and backgrounds and gained access to research opportunities, internships, alumni connections, and career resources.
Today, Freire is president of the Goizueta Alumni Board, a role he assumed at the start of this academic year and that allows him to give back to the school that helped shape his career and his approach to leadership.
Finding a Home at Goizueta
At Emory, Freire initially considered studying math or going to law school. But when a friend in his dorm suggested he explore Goizueta, he was drawn to the school’s academics, structure, and emphasis on professional development.
Goizueta became “the home for me,” he says.
There, he also found something he hadn’t expected: a place where he could speak openly about the immigration challenges he and his family had faced, experiences he’d spent years keeping to himself.
At Emory, he connected with two fellow immigrants in his class. Together, they helped establish Undocumented Students of America, creating a community for students who shared similar experiences but didn’t know each other existed.
In addition to providing opportunities for mentorship, advocacy, and connection, the group organized “The Undocumented Truth,” an event where undocumented students, friends, and allies shared stories with the broader Emory community.
For someone who’d spent most of his life hiding his immigration status, the experience was transformative.
“I feel like I was finally able to claim my truth and also influence others,” Freire says.
The experience also helped shape his approach to leadership.
“Sometimes it takes the art of sharing your story and breaking down the walls” to help others feel comfortable opening up, he says.
Making Space for Others
That willingness to share experiences and make space for others continues to inform Freire’s work as a manager in PwC’s Workforce Transformation practice. He strives to create an environment where colleagues feel comfortable speaking up, taking time to understand the experiences and perspectives they bring to their work.
He’s bringing that same philosophy to the Goizueta Alumni Board, which he joined in 2022 as he prepared to move from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. The board offered a way to stay connected to Goizueta while bringing the perspective of a younger graduate from Goizueta’s Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program.
When fellow board members encouraged him to pursue the presidency, Freire hesitated, concerned about whether he could devote enough time to the role. Ultimately, he decided he could make a meaningful contribution.
Freire describes his approach as servant leadership. He wants to provide structure and direction while giving other board members room to contribute their own ideas and talents.
“Leadership can look and feel in different ways,” he says. “It’s not always about the person who’s the CEO of their company.”
Opening Doors for the Next Generation
His term coincides with a period of change at Goizueta. The undergraduate BBA program has grown significantly, and Dean Saby Mitra, who joined the school this past summer, has made alumni engagement a priority. Freire sees a chance for the board to reach alumni who haven’t traditionally been involved, to “break the fourth wall,” as he puts it, while staying connected to the needs of current students.
That includes looking beyond Goizueta’s larger, more established student organizations to support smaller groups, such as the Pride Alliance, and to inclusion initiatives organized by the BBA Council, which may not already have them.
He also wants the board to work closely with Mitra and Goizueta’s administration, supporting the school as it navigates organizational changes and identifies new priorities.
Freire remembers what it feels like to be a student trying to decipher career paths and recruiting processes that can seem obvious only after you’ve navigated them. When he talks with today’s students, he tries to make those processes less intimidating.
For Freire, staying involved with Goizueta is rooted partly in gratitude. The Woodruff Scholarship gave him an education his family could not otherwise have afforded, and Emory gave him opportunities to find his voice, build community, and help create change.
“Anything I do to give back doesn’t feel enough,” he says.
As Alumni Board president, Freire says he’ll measure success by whether board members can point to the contributions they’ve made to the school’s progress.
“The puzzle pieces don’t need to be all the same or the same size,” he says.
Are you interested in becoming an alumni mentor or contributing to the Goizueta alumni network? Contact the Goizueta Business School alumni office at gbsalumni@emory.edu.
