February 3, 2021 – Fondazione Pesenti is once again supporting the Intercultura Association, which this year has established four partial scholarships for year-long study abroad programs. These scholarships are reserved for particularly deserving students residing in the province of Bergamo.
“Despite the ongoing health emergency, interest in the programs has not waned. The hope and trust that young people place in the future must not be disappointed, and the availability of scholarships is a clear and essential incentive for many families to participate in international student mobility programs.”
With the meeting of the Selection Committee for the assignment of the Intercultura Scholarships, the various selection phases have concluded. The Committee reviewed the profiles of applicants who passed the earlier selection stages and identified the scholarship recipients.
Winners (in alphabetical order):
Giudici Caterina, from Bergamo – Year-long program in Argentina
Lattarulo Sara, from Treviglio – Year-long program in China
Segala Valentina, from Treviglio – Year-long program in France
Unuagbon Francesca, from Lovere-Boario – Year-long program in Belgium (Flemish region)
THE STUDENTS
Caterina Giudici
Program: year-long in Argentina
School: Istituto Scolastico “Manzù” – Bergamo
Caterina lives in Trescore Balneario (BG) with her parents, who are both employees. She has an older brother and sister who no longer live at home. Her mother is Dutch, and Caterina has visited the Netherlands several times, where many relatives live. Her family is very open—they hosted a Brazilian student for a year, and both of Caterina’s siblings participated in an Intercultura program abroad. Caterina describes herself as outgoing, transparent, frank, determined, and enterprising.
She attends an art-focused high school, where she achieves excellent results, and she aspires to become an architect. In her free time, she loves to draw—both for passion and as a way to unwind. She also enjoys walking with friends and relaxing by listening to music.
Caterina believes that the experience abroad will be a year of personal growth and discovery of new cultures, languages, and people. She knows it won’t always be easy and expects challenges, but she believes the most rewarding paths are often the hardest. She’s eager to leave and is very excited and curious to see where this journey will take her.
Sara Lattarulo
Program: year-long in China
School: “Giacomo e Pio Manzù” High School – Bergamo
Sara lives in Lurano (BG) with her parents and older brother. Her father is a factory worker, her mother a cashier, and her brother is a systems programmer. Sara says she has a great relationship with her family, especially with her brother. Despite their eight-year age gap, they are very close. Sara describes herself as precise and meticulous, someone who enjoys planning things—although she admits she can also be a bit messy and late at times. She values listening and diplomacy and describes herself as energetic and curious.
Sara attends an art high school and gets excellent grades. Her favorite subjects are art history and architecture, and she hopes to become an architect. Outside school, Sara is passionate about music, film, and photography. She has been playing volleyball for ten years and is part of a local youth volunteer group.
Sara says she’s interested in the study abroad program not so much to learn a language, but rather to immerse herself in a completely different culture. She looks forward to living with a host family and learning their customs, while building long-lasting friendships with people from different backgrounds.
Valentina Segala
Program: year-long in France
School: “Weil” High School – Treviglio (BG)
Valentina lives in Treviglio (BG) with her parents and younger brother. Her mother is an architect and her father a sales agent. She says she has a great relationship with her family and feels free to be herself and express her thoughts with them. Valentina describes herself as ambitious, enterprising, talkative, and sociable. She tends to take on a leadership role in her group of friends and enjoys being organized. She loves learning new things, visiting cities and museums, and meeting people from different cultures.
She attends a language high school, where she studies English, French, and Spanish, achieving excellent grades. She is passionate about languages and wants to become an interpreter. She is on a volleyball team and trains nearly every day. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and going out with friends. Valentina has dreamed of going abroad for years, and is very curious to see what the future holds.
She hopes this program will push her outside of her comfort zone, allow her to gain new experiences, meet new people and form lasting bonds, and also help her better understand herself.
Francesca Unuagbon
Program: year-long in Flanders, Belgium
School: “Piana” High School – Lovere (BG)
Francesca lives in Lovere (BG) with her mother, who is a teacher, and her older brother. She has had no contact with her father since she was a child. She has a very open relationship with her mother and brother and is also very close to her grandmother. Francesca describes herself as sociable but shy at first. She tends to be optimistic and considers herself caring and reliable. She’s very close to her group of friends, especially her teammates on the track and field team.
Francesca attends a technical high school specializing in electronics, where she earns excellent grades. Her favorite subjects are physics and mathematics, and she hopes to become an environmental engineer. Outside school, she trains in athletics three to four times a week, and takes part in activities organized by the Italian Alpine Club and her local parish.
Francesca decided to participate in the Intercultura program to experience a new culture and gain a broader view of the world. She believes this experience could be life-changing and open new doors. She wants to discover what lies beyond her hometown and truly feel like a global citizen.
Please note: Due to the COVID-19 emergency, the feasibility of the program and the actual departure dates will depend on the evolving health situation. Entry procedures for the various destination countries will be carefully assessed by the Association, which has had a continuous monitoring system in place since the beginning of the pandemic. Intercultura always places the well-being and safety of its participants at the center of its programs.
Fondazione Pesenti aims to promote and spread a culture of innovation understood as the development of ideas, projects, and actions capable of creating a positive impact socially, environmentally, and culturally. The Foundation fosters modern forms of interaction among the public sector, for-profit private sector, and the non-profit world, by designing sustainable solutions that address major social challenges. Its new focus areas—alongside its traditional commitment to preserving national historic and artistic heritage, educational and scientific programs, public conferences and publications, humanitarian and social solidarity projects—are designed to support initiatives with a positive impact in creating socially valuable new businesses, especially developed by younger generations.
Associazione Intercultura Onlus has been promoting intercultural dialogue for over 60 years through international exchange programs involving thousands of young people and families around the world. It works to foster the internationalization of Italian schools by providing examples of best practices and training sessions on managing exchange programs (it is an accredited body for training school personnel by the Italian Ministry of Education). The Association offers scholarships to support the international student mobility of deserving youth. The Italian Ministries of Education and Foreign Affairs are partners of the Intercultura Foundation and support its activities.