From the guest speaker, who has just resigned from Twitter, an encouragement to leave the comfort zone in order to change and grow. While the representative of graduates mentioned the importance of taking advantage of all opportunities
These students came from various parts of Italy to Trento for their university studies and today gathered in piazza Duomo to celebrate their graduation. The event which, since 2015, brings together students and their friends and families, has become a collective celebration, and the rain could not stop the joyful atmosphere caused by the 400 young students celebrating their achievement.
The ceremony opened with the arrival of the Academic procession, which started at Palazzo Sardagna, while the choir was performing the Italian National Anthem. Rector Flavio Deflorian was the first to address the audience. In his speech, he said that every ceremony renews "our sense of being part of the University, which is what makes the University of Trento an ideal environment for study and research".
"I and would like to propose a reflection today, as you are here despite the rain for a special occasion. This ceremony, in fact, is a turning point in your life: an adventure is coming to an end, and a new one is about to begin." He continued: "To get here, you have faced difficulties and challenges that other students were spared. This achievement will not appear on your diploma, but you will remember it, and treasure it in the years to come. In a few days, like your parents, I will be at my daughter's side when she graduates, so I understand how you feel today."
The Rector encouraged the young men and women to face challenges and difficulties with courage, as they are "all well equipped to overcome them. The education you have received, in fact, goes far beyond disciplinary knowledge. The University of Trento aims to train the citizens of the future, who will be able to actively participate in the social and productive life of the country, to respond with creativity and intelligence to the challenges of a rapidly changing world, full of uncertainties and risks." He added: "Be courageous and do not be afraid to make mistakes. It is precisely in times like these that your talent and determination can make a difference and help shape a better future. You can turn crises into opportunities and get involved with ambition and courage, in work and in life."
As Rector Deflorian pointed out, today is a time of celebration for the entire community. The speeches by the Mayor of Trento Franco Ianeselli and the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Maurizio Fugatti, demonstrate how strong is the link of the city and region with these young graduates.
"The skills of young people are crucial for the growth of our region," said President Fugatti in congratulating the graduates. "It is therefore essential to know how to retain and attract talents, a strategic objective that Trentino institutions seek to achieve even with initiatives such as the campaign to hire health professionals. The ability to find solutions to ever-changing problems is fundamental, particularly at a time of crisis such as the one we are experiencing. Knowledge is the basis for everything, to learn a job and in basic research. This is the way to go. Our territory has been able to invest in the growth of its University, with a competitive offer of courses that now also includes the school of medicine. The number of applications received for the medicine and surgery course is telling us that we were right in pursuing this goal and I am thankful to the University for taking on such a challenge. We must continue along this path. The Province confirms its full support to the university and the world of research for the development of Trentino".
"With your skills, with your talents, with your passions, you face a complicated, hostile and in many ways unfair world," Mayor Ianeselli told the graduates. "It is a world that more than ever needs you, your knowledge of problems, your ideas to solve them. You may not be aware of this but you are our hope. In my view, you are the key to our future and you are the ones who can steer us away from the end-of-the-world scenarios which have often been evoked in these days." He then thanked them all for the contribution they have made to the city in these years. "I believe that the university – and in particular ours, which is one of the best in Italy – is a talent incubator that, thanks to its position and impact, can help the territory grow. If Trento has changed in better in recent decades, if it has become more open and welcoming, we owe it also to you and to your intellectual vibrancy."
Alberto Parrella, who graduated in Economics and Management in 2013 and in Innovation Management in 2015, a Senior Product Manager at Twitter Inc., invited as a testimonial, told the young students not to be intimidated by fear. In his speech, Parrella said that fear fuelled his personal and professional growth: fear led him to leave Caserta, his hometown, for San Francisco, where he works today, passing through London and Trento, where he spent his university years with all the opportunities it offered, such as the Innovation Lab. And fear is also the fear of making mistakes and failing, of change, of being alone. "When you feel inadequate you must overcome your insecurities, get out of your comfort zone: facing fear often means being in front of an opportunity for change and growth".
He remembered some difficult, fearful moments, such as having to choose between the Twitter employment offer that came from London and that of a Milan-based company. In the end, he chose the very option he perceived as most risky. He continued: "We must never settle for what we have. My work allows me to show my ideas to 250 million users with a click: getting used to it has been difficult, but now that no longer intimidates me. In fact, it is precisely not feeling this fear anymore that has led me to resign from Twitter, just days ago, because I have found new opportunities elsewhere, actually, in a start-up. I am terrified but also very excited." He recommended the students to be curious, ambitious (but not pretentious) and prepared.
An invitation to take advantage of the university came from Omar Zoghlami, a graduate in Mathematics and now enrolled in the Advanced Mathematics master's degree, who spoke on behalf of the graduates attending the ceremony. "Often, in Mathematics, the idea of a solution appears much clearer when the problem is attacked from different angles, which happens very naturally when you think together. The university has a decisive role in promoting this continuous exchange of ideas, even from a merely physical point of view, thanks to the places that it provides to students even out of class hours." He said he is very satisfied with the choice he made, especially in a university like Trento where, thanks also to the strong student representation, students are a priority and the possibilities that are offered to students are really many. The life of university students in fact, he said "is not limited to the university. Many important experiences do not take place in the corridors, the classrooms, the study rooms, and we have the chance to live them fully ".
Thinking back to the months of the pandemic, as someone who experienced it first hand, he encouraged the students to "be bold and move on, even in the most difficult times, we all can make it because we have already done it and today we are here to celebrate it".
This time the ceremony was also attended by six of the best graduates of Collegio Clesio: Vittorio Maria Coraducci, Luca Dal Forno, Greta Granocchia, Luca Marchiori, Anna Saiani and Alessia Tecchio. Jorge Jovicich, deputy director of the Collegio, recalled the characteristics of the institution. The building, in the historic centre of Trento, currently hosts 84 students, and offers a stimulating and multicultural environment for their studies. Admissions are based on merit. The admission procedure is published once a year. Students must consistently maintain an excellent average in all of their courses to remain in the Collegio.
The Choir then performed the Ode to Joy and students started to be called on the stage to receive their diploma from the hands of rector Flavio Deflorian and the deputy rector Paola Iamiceli. The ceremony was sped up a little because of the bad weather.
To ceremony ended with the Choir singing Gaudeamus Igitur, the university anthem, the proclamation by the rector and the tossing of the hats on the notes of Handel's Halleluja.
Musical interludes were performed by the University Choir and Orchestra.
A sign language interpreter was present during the event (provided by the Trento branch of the Italian Association of the Deaf - ENS).
The event was organized by the University of Trento in collaboration with the Autonomous Province of Trento and the City of Trento.
About the new graduates
The ceremony celebrated the students who obtained their undergraduate degree in the summer from the following departments and centres: the Agriculture Food Environment Center - C3A, the Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology - CIBIO; Economics and Management; Physics; Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering; Information Engineering and Computer Science; Industrial Engineering; Humanities; Mathematics; Psychology and Cognitive Science; Sociology and Social Research; the Faculty of Law.
More information on: www.unitn.it/cerimonia-laurea