Alumni Spotlight: Gaia Pellegrino
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UWL’s 2024 Recent Graduate Award Winner, Gaia Pellegrino, came to the UK from Italy to study Psychology and Criminology.
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When the University accepted me, I was very thrilled. The course was exactly what I wanted. I’m a big fan of crime, so studying that and psychology seemed like the best choice for me.”
Arriving in 2019, Gaia was not only settling into a brand new degree but finding her feet in a brand new country.
The first year was all fun and games, I was enjoying the student life in a brand-new country. It wasn’t a huge shock, because I’d visited England a lot, but I needed to adapt my own cultural traditions and things.”
Her university experience was slightly interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, when UWL had to close its campus in line with government lockdown rules. But even with this challenge, Gaia still loved studying with us.
The University kept us on track doing online lessons. Everyone was involved, everyone was helping each other. When we got back onto campus at the end of 2020, I still felt like the community was there, trying to come back together.”
During the summer between first year and second year, Gaia decided to travel to Tanzania with Meditrip- a medical volunteering scheme that sent her to work with neurodiverse children.
Italy didn’t have a huge culture of volunteering. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how. When I went back home for the summer, I started looking for something I could do.
My family had been involved with building wells in Kenya, so I started to think about Africa. That was a big cultural shock. You land on the other side of the world, by yourself, and everything is different.”
Gaia spent her time in Tanzania working with young children undiagnosed autism and ADHD. When she graduated, she travelled to India to continue her volunteering work.
The need to do all of this came from my experience in London. I was lucky, I had the time and economic flexibility to help. I was just trying to be useful, but going to the other side of the world was really beneficial for me.”
Volunteering has broadened Gaia’s horizons, showing her the value in spending time connecting with and helping others. In building relationships around the world, Gaia realised that in helping others, they were also helping her.
The biggest challenge is realising that this is people’s daily lives. Once I leave, I get to go home to my comforts. For them, it’s not an experience, it’s their lives. When I travel, I always try to put myself in their shoes. Adapting to new situations is difficult, but I had to accept this as their reality.”
Sometimes, Gaia finds herself struggling with guilt over her access to comforts, always wanting to stay longer and help more. But she returned to London to study for her Masters degree at UCL and is thinking about her next steps.
Only 24, Gaia is open to whatever might happen. While she would like to work as a psychologist in a prison or a school, she’s aware that there’s plenty of opportunities out there.
I just want to feel like I’m being helpful in someone’s life. There’s other volunteering I want to do. There’s travel I want to do, but I want to do something while I travel.”
For Gaia, it’s all about being flexible:
Try out as much as you can. Don’t close yourself to one pathway.
I used to be like this. At around fifteen, I was determined to be a specific way. But the more you close doors, the worse your life is going to be. You’ll be so focused on one thing; you’ll miss a lot of opportunities.
You never know where life will lead you. That’s the best advice I can give right now.”
In September 2024, Gaia was awarded the Recent Graduate Award at the UWL Alumni Awards ceremony. Presented by bestselling author Jung Chang, this award recognises all the different paths our graduates can take once they finish studying with us.
I was surprised. I never win anything, honestly. It just made me feel appreciated. My family really showed that they were proud of me. They’re not the type to say that out loud very often.
I really enjoyed the experience; it was a beautiful thing. Even when I’m feeling lost, as most people do in their twenties, it was great to know that the University appreciates what I’m doing. It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.”
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