Compare Gabriel Gervais with Montreal Canadiens icon Jean Béliveau and you’ll be struck by more than a few similarities. The former Montreal Impact assistant captain and defensive star – and current McGill student – shares the legend’s leadership, brains, quiet charisma, and passion for activism. One look at Gabriel’s packed schedule tells you he shares something else with Béliveau – his energy.

Gabriel was raised in Peru, where he spent most of his energy on two things – soccer and planes. Soccer was a no-brainer: he was, after all, a boy growing up in South America. Planes – how they are built, how to fix them – he learned from his father, a bush pilot and mechanic who worked with Jacques Cousteau on his legendary expedition down the Amazon.

“My dad was always talking to me about how this works and that works, and I was always fascinated,” says the affable, soft-spoken Gabriel from his Old Montreal home.

Injuries forced the 32 year-old to hang up his cleats in early 2009. Although he calls his decision to retire from soccer “very difficult,” the humble star has always sought more out of life than success on the field. “I’ve tried just playing soccer, but for me it’s never enough. I can’t say professional sports is an easy life. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s hard on your body. But it’s a comfortable lifestyle. And you can get caught up in that. Whether you like it or not you can become lazy.”

Laziness is the least of his problems. Despite having a virtual monopoly on the United Soccer League’s Best Defensive Player title since his professional debut with the Rochester Rhinos nine years ago, last year Gabriel decided to pursue an MBA at McGill – his third degree. As with every sphere he touches, Gabriel is no stranger to scholastic success. While on full scholarship for a B.Sc. in mechanical engineering at Syracuse University, he won an award for academic excellence, then went on to a Master’s in Engineering Management, during which he won the legendary sporting school’s top award for combined athletic and academic excellence as captain of its soccer squad.

Gabriel is deceptively easygoing. Even without his Impact duties—and he still hopes to remain active with the team, just not as a player—his days are full. “I like being a leader,” he admits. When he’s not in class or in the library, you might find him on duty as honorary president of the international humanitarian organization Terre Sans Frontières. He’s also an official spokesperson for UNICEF through the program Right To Play, joining such athlete ambassadors as Michael Phelps and Donovan Bailey in bringing life lessons learned through sport to underprivileged youth around the globe. Gabriel clearly considers this work as important as soccer or business.

“My parents were both missionaries. With Terre Sans Frontières, my father worked in the Congo, bringing medication, syringes, vaccines and medics to isolated areas in these little Cessnas. My parents were always involved. I’ve always enjoyed that kind of work, though I’m nowhere near what they’ve done in their lives.”

Still, it’s not a bad start.