Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

I come from Genoa, a little city in the north of Italy. It is close to the Mediterranean Sea, so growing up I could go to the beach every day. My high school was one of the best high schools in the region, focusing on languages. I went there for nine years, and then I decided to continue my education at CUHK. I had the opportunity to join New Asia College, which was very cool. I have a beautiful family and two dogs. I love my life.

How did you first get interested in Chinese language and culture?

Initially, I started studying Chinese because my older sister was practicing Chinese character writing and discussed it with me. When I wrote down these characters for the first time, I thought, wow, they are amazing; I love this culture and this language. So I focused on Chinese in high school. My big dream is to work at an auction house, travel around Europe to find Chinese art, and sell it at the auction house. Why? Because I have been working for three years at an auction house already. I am the linguistic mediator between the customers and the boss. I am blonde and I am foreign, so customers often think I don't understand Chinese. I listen to customers speaking Chinese and report back to my boss (laughs).

So you were a bit like a spy?

More or less… I completely fell in love with this foreign world. Perhaps I study Chinese to put myself in different cultures, in different environments. I think CUHK is the best choice for my future. Before coming here, I saw different universities in mainland China, but the programs there require me to learn to paint, and I don't need this kind of training. CCS at CUHK is perfect for me—trust me, it's amazing—so I tried to come here, even though the application process was hard (laughs). I was admitted in July. It was hard for me because I was also trying to maintain good grades at school, and I put all my efforts toward coming here. I didn't have a plan B. If I didn't get in here, I didn't have other options. So, I maintained hope until the end, and now it's perfect.

That is great—I'm getting goosebumps! How did you first find out about CUHK?

A close friend of mine from my high school is a second-year student in CCS. I saw his pictures on the Instagram page of CUHK, so I thought, I might not get in, but I can try. But the main reason is my big dream—the auction house and so on. My Chinese art teacher helped me learn about CUHK. I learned everything via the internet; I had never come here before. It's a big adventure. You need to be strong. Not everyone can do this. You need to be responsible for yourself. You need to think: I am alone, so I need to do my laundry, cook by myself, take a shower—when you are with your family, you don't think about that. You need to work hard.

What is your impression of CUHK so far?

Good! In Italy there is no "uni life" on campus like here. I like CUHK life a lot. It's always busy. You cannot say "maybe I take a nap" (laughs).

What would you say to a high school student, maybe in Italy, who is looking to plan for their future?

I will go back to my high school and talk about CUHK and CCS this December. I will say [to the high school students] that it is a very good opportunity. Don't think about "maybe I will miss my parents, my girlfriend/boyfriend…" The first person you need to think of is you. You need to focus on your own project, and your own future. This is the reason I am here. I have a goal—if you have a goal, you can go straight and reach it. You need to be ambitious and think about the future and think about your life. For me it is like this: first your future, get the job of your dreams, and family comes after, so you can be happy.

So your word of advice to any international student considering CCS is "just do it"?

You need to have motivation, firstly. And you need to learn how to be independent. If you have a goal, CUHK can open doors for you, and especially CCS. In Italian maybe I can be more motivational (laughs)!