Hi! My name is Antonio, and I am 32 years old. I have always tried to understand others through studying and books, but I was looking for an experience that would allow me to experience the reality of things firsthand. Above all of this, most importantly, I was looking for something that would allow me to share my experience and personal growth with others.
I came across CICD at a time in my life when I wanted to give new meaning to what I did in my daily life, so I started looking for a place where I could see things from a new perspective and that is how I found it.
I decided to dive into the GAIA program within CICD because I'm aiming for an opportunity to raise a scholarship for my course fees to head to Africa for their awesome 10-month program starting in October.
My first taste of the Gaia team was in the Promotion office. There, I got to promote the college's activities and programs across Italian social media. I also helped out by answering questions from interested folks through messages, emails, and video calls. This experience was seriously valuable, both in terms of the skills I picked up – like how to communicate the college's vibe and activities effectively online – and on a personal level. The office atmosphere and, most importantly, the stories of people eager to embark on the same journey as me truly filled me up and kept me motivated.
After my time in Promotion, I moved on to another key part of the Gaia team activities: container maintenance. One of the college's main activities is collecting used clothing, and for that, you need containers that need looking after. This was a whole new ballgame for me because I'd never worked in a hands-on environment before. So, getting used to the pace and way of working was tough at first, especially with my limited technical experience. But day by day, I'm trying to get better at it, building up my practical skills which I'm sure will be super useful down the line, even outside of this experience.
I'm really proud of my journey so far. I'm learning so much about myself and how to tackle a ton of common situations that anyone joining a community-focused environment encounters daily.
Sure, there are challenges, like in any setting, but those are the things that help us grow. And that's exactly why I came here – to grow and to push myself.
