My name is Santina Verde and I come from a diverse professional background. I have a degree in foreign languages and experience in European projects: I have organized several exchanges and completed my EVS in the European mobility office of an NGO working in this field, In Germany. After that, I returned to Italy and studied corporeal mime (I had started attending theatre workshops starting from 2013), eventually obtaining my diploma.
Since 2018, I have been working as a tour director, leading travel groups mostly in Italy and occasionally in other European countries, and as a teacher during the years of covid pandemic, when people were not travelling.
I decided to join the EYE program because I first heard about it during a European project from a friend, and later I met many people who had participated in it. Of course, curiosity was one of the reasons why I have decided to join, but not the main or strongest one. I wanted to gain a more structured work experience abroad, not just an exchange, while also developing my project, which is about tourism and travelling, the field I actually work in.
I am still at the early stages of this project. I chose the Global Program because I have already travelled extensively in Europe and lived abroad, and I wanted to experience a completely different (non-European) culture to see how it would influence me. Additionally, most of my clients in Italy come from the USA, so I wanted to gain a deeper understanding of their culture.
From a professional perspective, I believe this is the best city in the world to test an entrepreneurial project: the city’s energy, opportunities, and challenges are unique. On the other hand, it is a very large place and can sometimes feel overwhelming or difficult when trying to build a routine and meet new people in such a short period of time, which is, in any case, part of the experience. Generally speaking, I have built my education and career also thanks to European mobility, which has always been an important part of my learning path.