Paul Castricone
While at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Stella focused on a final thesis in cognitive sciences and music, having studied piano for 15 years. She was born and raised in Rome, but her desire to travel led her to the University of Cadiz, Spain, where she was awarded a grant to study linguistics while completing her B.A. During her M.A., she was awarded 3 additional grants: studying journalism in Valencia, Spain; completing a curricular internship in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain; and working as an academic researcher at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. While in Spain and Portugal, Stella fell in love with surfing and traveled through Europe looking for waves and meeting people from all around the world. The time spent abroad helped her to become fluent both in English and Spanish, as she is a native Italian speaker. Presently, she is studying scientific journalism at Sapienza University in Rome, taking Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes to compete in the Italian Championship, and training to obtain a diving certificate. She previously worked for CIEE College Study Abroad as a program leader in Rome.