JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship Welcomes High School Students for "Italy Pitches"

High school students anticipate their turn at the JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship’s “Italy Pitches”

On Monday, April 18, 2016, the JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship welcomed Italian High School students to compete in the first ever “Italy Pitches” competition. Inspired by the success of Italy Reads and Italy Writes, Italy Pitches is a national, Elevator Pitch-style competition in English, focused on advocating for non profits, open to Italian High School students. Participating in this first edition were students from schools in Rignano Flaminio, Roma, Pomezia, and Naples.

The students were judged by a panel composed by:

• Eliana Naso, Vice Executive Director of Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure;
• Marianna Occhiuto, JCU Alumna and Head of Communications and Fundraising of Casa Scalabrini;
• Francesca Addari, Supporter Service Intern for Save the Children;
• Sara Viaggi, Program Specialist in a leading NGO.

The winner of the competition, Marco D’Albis, with a pitch on Emergency, was awarded free entry in JCU’s English Summer Camp. “It was a great experience. I had rehearsed the speech in class with my professor, Angela Andolfi, whom I’d like to thank, but it’s definitely different to do it in front of an audience,” said D’Albis. When asked about what prompted him to choose Emergency as the subject of his pitch, he replied that it was because of the help that Emergency brings a lot of people, a contribution often not widely publicized. Students Aurora Lombardi and Monica de Vincentis placed as runners up.

Despite the difficulty of participating in such a competition in a foreign language and at young age, the students surprised the judges with the quality of their pitches. Francesca Addario commented: “I was very pleased with the level of the competition. Many of the students told stories and exposed their ideas in a confident and poised manner.”

What’s next for Italy Pitches? “I want to extend this competition to more schools,” said Professor Silvia Pulino, Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, “Ideally, I’d like every school in Italy to have the opportunity to participate.”

Learn more about the JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship at John Cabot University