Edoardo Del Vecchio is a USC junior majoring in Business Administration and a international student from Italy, who is currently studying in Milan, Italy as part of the World Bachelor in Business program. He was also a former business development intern for Living Advantage Inc. We sat down with Edoardo recently to discuss his experience with Living Advantage Inc. and how his service helped him grow both individually and professionally. Edoardo was first drawn to apply to Living Advantage Inc. because he has always been involved with foster youth, even before studying at USC. In Rome, he was involved with a foster youth agency and tutored foster youth kids. When he attended a career event fair at USC, he met Program Director Eugenia Wilson, who inspired him to apply because helping foster youth mattered a lot to him, no matter where he is in the world. As the business development intern, Edoardo worked on donor outreach, managing the newsletters, researching and compiling information, and organizing a variety of communications and marketing materials. He also worked on the database of proper documentation for foster youth. As it was also his first work experience in America, Edoardo found the internship experience exciting, and he learned a lot from Eugenia Wilson and Executive Director Pamela Clay. “They were good bosses who taught me a lot. Eugenia held me accountable, and Pamela was willing to share her life experience and knowledge about the issue at stake, so I had more depth to my work experience,” said Edoardo. Edoardo also spoke about how this experience helped him understand the important issues in Los Angeles and in America, which were different from those in Italy. “In LA, the issue [for foster youth] was more about proper documentation,” said Edoardo. “[Los Angeles] is very different from any other European city I’ve been to. I have only experienced America through films, and [interning] opened a window to reality to LA.” Interning at Living Advantage Inc. inspired Edoardo to do more for international service. After his internship, Edoardo wrote an article about Los Angeles and its homelessness issue, which was published on a distinguished geopolitical magazine in Italy called Limes. He has gone on to study in Hong Kong, research for a think tank in Italy, and even intern in Myanmar. All the while, he has not forgotten his dedication to service and helping foster youth. “Living Advantage is very important because it focuses on one step in the chain of the foster youth problem. It’s an efficient way to collect these documents. It’s a small step, and [Living Advantage Inc.] is well-positioned to carry it out,” said Edoardo. “[Because of this experience], in the future, I want to keep working and supporting any way I can with the foster youth issue. It’s the one social issue that I really want to devote my efforts to.” Interested in becoming an action hero like Edoardo Del Vecchio? Donate or volunteer with us today!
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