My name is Elena and I am from Italy. I graduated from LSE in 2005 with a BSc in Mathematics and Economics and am currently still studying in London towards an MSc.

As for my background, both of my parents are from Southern Italy and I was born in Rome and lived there for four years. I then grew up in Luxembourg and in 2005, at the age of eighteen, I obtained the European Baccalaureate. In September of the same year I started my undergraduate at LSE. LSE is a unique university accepting students on a joint degree in Mathematics and Economics without any previous knowledge of the latter. It is also one of the few prestigious institutions offering such generous scholarships.

In the future I would like to work for a small company that values individuals as well as integrity and ethics, possibly a catastrophe, terrorism or infective diseases risk management service provider. Among my aspirations, like Stelios, I would like to finance education in the future. Coming from a family that did not have the chance of enjoying this benefit I am aware of my privileged position. I indeed strongly believe that instruction is an investment that never brings losses. For me, Stelios is no doubt an example to be followed. Through the Scholarship I learnt to appreciate every little thing that my life brings about everyday. Most importantly, I became aware of the importance of giving-back. I believe that as Scholars we should use our experience to divulge the noble action of our Donor so it can reach a constantly growing spectrum of people.

The Stelios Scholarship was a major part of my experience at LSE; I don’t think I would have been able to study there without it. I therefore learnt to value such a privilege and realised I should take it as an example to follow. Indeed if my future financial situation enables me to do so I will undoubtedly sponsor education. I believe that everyone should have access to instruction and that financial need should never be an obstacle to it. Means to prevent this from happening are widely available and should only be more widely implemented. I would love to ask Stelios what advice he would give me to achieve my aspirations, and I think he should ask me how I think my experiences can help change the world.