Lucca Denardi '23 Recruiting Profile

I just stepped out of the plane that was not just taking me to another place but a whole dream and my desire to change the future of my country. This dream began not a day, not a month, but years before that. I decided to pursue a dream that started after witnessing what was happening inside of my country, more specifically Brazil. Since I was young, I have always heard what was going on in the political field because my dad would always tell me that a single politician can change and ruin a whole country using just a pen. And when I was growing up, I continued to be interested in politics and was always trying to figure out why they would be so selfish, stubborn, and corrupt at the same time. After being encouraged by my family and my friends, I decided at 15 years old to make a personal decision that would not just affect me but a lot of people.They would be proud in the future because my decision would not be just for my status but for the status of a whole country.

Like every decision a teenager makes, you do not know if you are doing it because of impulses or because you are following your heart. In my case, I decided that I would leave my country, parents, and friends at 16 years old to follow my heart. It was not easy for me to make this decision, but sometimes you dream big about changing something that is considered impossible. I took a big risk but a risk that will allow me to flourish in my country. I would love to go to a college where I could learn and play a sport at the same time. 

And like all the good stories, there is always the part where you struggle or think about quitting and giving up. In my case, right after I landed here, I had a feeling that I was alone and scared of what could happen in a country where you do not know a single person, and also, you do not know how you will adapt to the change. Another big struggle for me was in the hard situations or problems I had here. I did not have my parents at the house or physically with me to help or even guide me to the best way. But after every storm, there is a clear sky with a lot of good things to show. In my case, when I started knowing my host family and when I started knowing my friends from school, I started creating a feeling that I was not alone anymore and had created a good environment with people that I would not even know that I could be friends with.

Even after all these struggles, I would take this risk again a thousand times. It inspired me not to be afraid of the new things but to be open and willing to learn the new with the desire to always think bigger. 

My desire to take those risks has allowed me to always think and chase bigger things in my life. Those past struggles made me stronger and very adaptable to everything that can appear in my life in the future. So, I am not afraid of corrupt politicians, bad judges, or people that want to ruin your career because they want individual privileges.