Growing up in a traditional Timorese environment, Virginia didn’t have much exposure to sports. While the boys played outside, she was expected to stay inside the home and assist her mother with domestic duties, but when her mother wasn’t looking, she’d sneak out to play in the streets. After finishing secondary school, Virginia began working with SportImpact, a business-minded social enterprise that works with national sports entities in development, consulting, training, and event management, where she took over its Sport for Life project. Around the same time, she also founded Zumba Dili, her own initiative to empower women through exercise.

Virginia’s many achievements led her to be named Timor-Leste’s representative at the 9th UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris, as well as an Asian youth representative for the UNESCO General Conference 38th session. In 2019, she implemented her initiative, “We Lead,” which included training sessions aimed to promote sports for women throughout the region. Virginia is now the master facilitator for SportImpact and executive director of the Sport for Life project, leading a nationwide movement of young volunteers from local municipalities, training them in facilitation skills, and coaching them to replicate the project in their communities. She seeks to create a new generation of female sports leaders in Timor-Leste.