{"680566":{"#nid":"680566","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Atlanta United\u2019s Efra\u00edn Morales Balances Soccer and Studies at Georgia Tech","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELike many kids, Efra\u00edn Morales grew up with a dream of becoming a professional athlete. As a Suwanee, Georgia, native, he also dreamed of attending Georgia Tech. Now, as a defender for Atlanta United and an undergraduate in the Scheller College of Business, Morales does both.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the Five Stripes prepare for the 2025 season, Morales splits his time between the pitch and campus in pursuit of a finance degree. Each day for Morales begins at the club\u0027s training facility early in the morning. After that, he\u0027ll attend classes, study, or find time for a nap. His schedule isn\u0027t that of a typical college student. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s pretty difficult at times. With soccer, there are days you have some free time, but some days you have no time at all, so whether it\u0027s doing a little bit of work on the plane or at the hotel, you develop a routine and figure it out,\u0022 he said. \u201cThe balance between on- and off-field work helps to develop yourself and build character, and I think that\u2019s important for life outside soccer.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMorales has been affiliated with Atlanta United since its 2017 inaugural season, starting as a member of its youth academy program. He inked his first major league contract with the club at 16 as the first player to sign from the Academy\u0027s U-12 team. Rising through the ranks, he made his Major League Soccer debut during the 2024 season, eventually earning three starts, two of which came during the club\u0027s run in the U.S. Open Cup.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs he developed as a soccer player, he also pursued his dream of attending Tech. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Since sixth grade, I\u0027ve wanted to go to Georgia Tech. I\u2019m the son of immigrants, and my parents are big on education. They both came to the United States and went to university as well, so that\u0027s something that\u0027s been instilled in me from a young age. We knew before I signed my contract here that, regardless, I was going to get a degree and an education. I think it\u0027s important for building myself, not as an athlete, but as a person.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up in the area, Morales toured and attended events at the Institute, and with friends and former teachers on campus, he felt at home the first time he stepped on campus as a student. During his time balancing life as an undergraduate and a professional athlete, Morales has been grateful for the help of his professors to ensure he never misses an assignment or falls behind. In January, Morales met with noted soccer fan and Georgia Tech President \u00c1ngel Cabrera. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022instagram-media\u0022 style=\u0022background-color:#FFF;border-radius:3px;border-width:0;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px);\u0022 data-instgrm-captioned=\u0022\u0022 data-instgrm-permalink=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEncyuvvHv5\/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026amp;utm_campaign=loading\u0022 data-instgrm-version=\u002214\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022padding:16px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022align-items:center;display:flex;flex-direction:row;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv 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C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\u0022\u003E\u003C\/path\u003E\u003C\/g\u003E\u003C\/g\u003E\u003C\/g\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022padding-top:8px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px;\u0022\u003E\u003Ca style=\u0022background-color:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%;\u0022 href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEncyuvvHv5\/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026amp;utm_campaign=loading\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EView this post on Instagram\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022padding:12.5% 0;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022align-items:center;display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv 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rotate(30deg);width:0;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022margin-left:auto;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022border-right:8px solid transparent;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;transform:translateY(16px);width:0px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;transform:translateY(-4px);width:16px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022border-left:8px solid transparent;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;height:0;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);width:0;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px;\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\u0022background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px;\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp style=\u0022color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap;\u0022\u003E\u003Ca style=\u0022color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none;\u0022 href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DEncyuvvHv5\/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026amp;utm_campaign=loading\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EA post shared by Angel Cabrera (@cabreraangel)\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cscript async=\u0022\u0022 src=\u0022\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\u0022\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe hopes his classmates and all fellow Yellow Jackets will cheer him on at Atlanta United\u2019s season opener against Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Mercedes Benz Stadium, and throughout the 2025 season.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022An Atlanta United match is one of the best sporting events you can get in the country, so if you\u0027re a fan or even if you\u0027re new to the game, it\u0027s something worth checking out,\u0022 he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp lang=\u0022EN-US\u0022\u003EFor Saturday\u0027s match, the club is offering the Georgia Tech community an opportunity to purchase \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/fevo-enterprise.com\/event\/GeorgiaTech2025\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ea special ticket package\u003C\/a\u003E that includes a limited edition Georgia Tech x Atlanta United scarf. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"full_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"From the pitch to the classroom, the Atlanta United defender balances his life as a professional athlete and a college student."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom the pitch to the classroom, the Atlanta United defender balances his life as a professional athlete and a college student at Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From the pitch to the classroom, the Atlanta United defender balances his life as a professional athlete and a college student. "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-02-18 20:14:30","changed_gmt":"2025-02-19 16:07:40","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2025-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676331":{"id":"676331","type":"video","title":"Atlanta United\u2019s Efra\u00edn Morales Balances Soccer and Studies at Georgia Tech","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, Efrain Morales is a business administration student. With Atlanta United, he is a 20-year-old central defender trying to keep some of the world\u0027s best players from scoring on his hometown team.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1739977531","gmt_created":"2025-02-19 15:05:31","changed":"1739978081","gmt_changed":"2025-02-19 15:14:41","video":{"youtube_id":"aT4PXQygURc","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aT4PXQygURc"}},"676325":{"id":"676325","type":"image","title":"Efrain Morales ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAtlanta United defender and Georgia Tech student Efrain Morales. Photo Courtesy: Atlanta United\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1739910133","gmt_created":"2025-02-18 20:22:13","changed":"1739910133","gmt_changed":"2025-02-18 20:22:13","alt":"Atlanta United Defender Efrain Morales","file":{"fid":"260090","name":"ATLUTD_20240518_ATLvsNSH_MM408452.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/18\/ATLUTD_20240518_ATLvsNSH_MM408452.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/02\/18\/ATLUTD_20240518_ATLvsNSH_MM408452.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":10945134,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/02\/18\/ATLUTD_20240518_ATLvsNSH_MM408452.JPG?itok=VvUKpbDs"}}},"media_ids":["676331","676325"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"193157","name":"Student Honors and Achievements"}],"keywords":[{"id":"173577","name":"atlanta united"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano \u003C\/a\u003E- Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Steven.gagliano@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}