First thing you notice Sharon DeCet It is his enthusiasm that is contagious. Born in 1994 Gresangrows under the banks of Classic High School of Aosta, an institute that proposes exchange projects with foreign countries in its fourth year. This year Sharon has the opportunity to choose between Spain, Belgium or Turkey. Small spoiler for the continuation of the story: the chosen goal will always be the furthest one and this time it is Turkey. There Cappadocia it is a special and fascinating region: Sharon makes many friends until after her return she even hosts a Turkish girl whom she met during this time. The experience is so positive that when the opportunity arises again, it’s time for Sharon to close her suitcase and hit the road again new York.
After graduating, it’s time to decide what to do when she grows up, and with a strong desire to learn about the world and its cultures, Sharon decides to enroll Linguistics for International Relations at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan. This faculty offers the opportunity to study a foreign language and, of course, the choice again falls on the most geographically distant country: Chinese. “This decision was perfect. It was a moment when the possibilities that knowledge of this language would bring were not yet fully appreciated.”
Thanks to her outstanding academic achievements, Sharon receives scholarships that enable her to study abroad China during summer. The second year offers an immediate opportunity to exit Erasmus in Paris: “The level of education on offer is very high and the environment very international, two aspects that proved to be decisive for the later choice of the master’s degree Public Policy and European Affairs by SciencesPo“. Over time, Sharon continues to improve her Chinese language: In addition to summer stays in China, she works at the in her free timeConfucius Institute Milan and in 2017 he moved almost a year Beijingwhere he attended an intensive Chinese course at the Tsinghua University: “Although we don’t talk about it many years ago, I lived in a completely different China than today, in a phase of openness: It was a country that let itself be shown, the politics were not so intrusive and despite the clear cultural differences , I felt at home. Today, however, I believe that the government is playing the game to become a world power and not just an honorary member of the West.”
Returning, Sharon begins her masterful journey in the French capital, and even with this experience, she doesn’t pass up the opportunity to travel. In fact, he spends a few months in for the internship provided for in the curriculum Sweden. During this time, Sharon not only engages in her interest in the Asian continent, but also in a very hot topic like cyber security, which proves to be very useful for her future career.
Thanks to the valuable contacts made over the years, Sharon officially enters the world of work at the end of school, as Cyber Security Risk Analyst and as a consultant to international organizations for risk assessment of investments in Eastern countries: “These are very specific and delicate activities. I devote many hours to study, I analyze the documents produced by government sources to understand and interpret the political and economic situations, to be able to assess the risks and opportunities in the different countries”.
The job allows Sharon to travel extensively while maintaining a baseline Paris and Berlin, before making the decision to return to Gressan: “I have traveled to many countries to study and work, I have adapted to life in big cities even though I come from a small village in Valle d’Aosta. My parents have always supported me, even if they didn’t always understand my choices; my constant changes have often forced me to make sacrifices, especially in the private sphere, but the greatest reward is that today I can count on many friends in all countries, not only in Europe, and especially friendships with a capital A, those who, despite the distance, despite the shortcomings, see little of each other and are perhaps online, stayed. Today I speak five languages and, although I’m still young, I can already look back on good professional experience. I certainly could have stayed in Italy, but I notice that young people here lack confidence: when you finish your studies abroad, companies immediately entrust you with responsible tasks and projects, here in Italy you have to join one instead fight bad internship paid or even owed you for being selected. On the contrary, I can say that France immediately believed in me and offered me Opportunities that I would hardly have had in Italy. As I said, my current job requires a lot of study and concentration, which is why I decided to return to my homeland: my return was obviously a culture shock, after years I was catapulted from a metropolis to a small village and, believe me, like that that’s not trivial. I thought a lot about what my return means, but then I said to myself that Italy is a fantastic country and I thought it deserved a second chance. Working remotely allows me to continue working for institutions and companies from all over the world, if necessary I can fly and travel without much difficulty. The best thing is that thanks to the years abroad I can find a friend anywhere!”
Sharon De Cet in Beijing
Sharon DeCet in Berlin