Jesus Silva Enriquez (Jesus Silva), 21, was born and raised in Marshalltown, Iowa, and now attends Marshalltown Community College (MCC). 

“Marshalltown Community College is a very nice and quiet place. Everyone is friendly toward each other and it’s a good place to start your college education if you aren't sure what you want to major in. Lucky for me, I  want to pursue computer network management,” said Silva. 

Silva plans to pursue a career in IT for a while and then continue his education further down the line. Currently, he plays for the MCC Esports team and his main game is Rainbow 6 Siege. 

“I am the IGL or in-game leader, and my job is to create a strategy for my team to execute and enjoy the game. I was taking the tour for MCC and one of the advisors was asking if anyone in the group plays any games; I said I did and they told me about the school’s first-year esports program,” said Silva.

How has it been for you on an esports team?

“I took a lot of time trying to analyze the game and the mechanics to fully understand that the game is a team-based game where everyone has a job or a talent for playing their roles. So, repetition and dedication help me be a part of a great community that is my Siege team, as well as solo queuing that mentally prepares me to face difficult situations or challenges,” said Silva, “My original gamertag was youngwildndfree1 from a song called Young, Wild and Free by Wiz Khalifa, a rapper I listened to when I was younger. From there, I got really into a game called Dark Soul, it’s packed with adventure and action. So, I changed my username to youngsoul17, which has all of the things I like, from my favorite song at the time, and the game I fell in love with, as well as my golden number. I’ve had it ever since.”

It has been about a year since Silva started his education at MCC and joined the esports program. His esports coach, Nathan Rodemeyer, had nothing but good things to say about Jesus. 

“Jesus is a strong player who is also developing into a fine leader. He serves as our primary IGL and does a fantastic job of providing constructive feedback to his teammates in a respectful manner, and he always helps his team maintain a level head and strong morale! Not only that, he is the team's head strategist and helps them develop many new strategies. He cares deeply and his passion spreads to our entire program,” said Rodemeyer.

Silva plans to continue his degree and esports in the future. 

“I enjoy the small things in my life and I am proud of what I am passionate about because at the end of the day, those passions are precious to me and no one else,” said Silva, “I try to be a version of myself that is better than yesterday.”