EAC’s Foundation: Josival Silva

Written by Tomas Lima

Famous for his amazing charismatic personality, and outstanding pudding, it is no mystery that Josival Silva is a cornerstone in our community. Whether students know him personally or not, every morning we see Josival at the front gates, guiding traffic, greeting parents and students, and, most importantly, keeping the school and us, the students, safe. In fact, Josival has been committed to our safety for the past 28 years. Josival started working at EAC in 1996 and has been working as security from the start, protecting the school’s heritage and community.

Having been present at EAC for nearly half of the school’s history, Josival has seen the school change dramatically over the years, in terms of space, staff and students. “It has grown a lot, and I think it’s great.” Josival believes the physical expansion of the school makes for an excellent learning environment, with new buildings and spaces that promote the well-being and happiness of the students. In particular, Josival has always loved the greenery, and how natural our campus feels. In terms of the massive growth in the number of students at the school, he loves it. Josival has an aptitude and liking to meeting new people and forming connections, particularly in a place as diverse as EAC.

“You guys, the parents, the students, I just feel so happy working here”

Josival Silva, on what inspires him to continue working at EAC

It is hard to imagine the commitment and passion it takes for one to come to work at the same place every day for almost 30 years. For Josival, it is simple. Interacting with the students and parents on a daily basis is the most gratifying and motivating aspect of life in EAC. He feels the utmost pleasure in getting to know each and every one of the students and parents as unique individuals in the school and sees being responsible for our safety as more of a privilege and honor than a burden or simply a job, which is further reinforced by the comfortable and home-like environment of the school. He said it himself, “I don’t see myself leaving, or even retiring from here, for a long while, I love it so much!”

In a previous EAC Press article, A Conversation with the Leos, the interviewees told a story of a robbery that occurred at EAC in the 90s. Other than both Leos, Josival was also there and added some details. “They took more than 40 computers”, he added. Josival explained that the robbery was possible because security at EAC was much worse. “The wall was very short, very easy to jump over”, as well as there being very few security guards. To accommodate for the size of computers at the time, the robbers hauled the stolen goods with, surprisingly, a whole truck. Thankfully, Josival has said that security at EAC has been one of the most drastic improvements since he joined EAC. “Now there’s so many more cameras, taller walls, many more guards, especially at night, the gates, they really invested a lot.”

It is no secret: Josival is a foundational piece of the community at EAC in a variety of ways. From his hard-work and dedication to keeping the school safe to his light-heartedness and comments on the most recent Palmeiras game, Josival is always committed to the well being of everyone in EAC. Be sure to tell him hi, get to meet him, he is sure to appreciate it.

And as a bonus, Josival revealed the secret to making pudding as well as he does: “Make it with a lot of love and a lot of care” as he believes everything in life should be done!