Case History
Students and graduates
Nicola Ricci
Academic Year 2007 – 2011
Born and raised in Vallata (AV).
On July 14, 2007, just one week after taking the oral exam for my high school diploma at the “Enrico Fermi” Scientific High School in Vallata, I moved to Boston, leaving behind everything I had known up until that point and to which I was deeply attached: family, friends, my hometown, the comfort of living at home, the usual bar… With the boldness and desire for change that only an 18-year-old can have, I chose a complete uprooting and a journey to a foreign city with a different language and culture.
I must confess that it wasn’t easy, but I also felt within me the awareness of the opportunity I had ahead. I could study at the prestigious Boston University and project myself into a new socio-cultural dimension. I knew this could open more possibilities for me in the future.
In Boston, I immediately began studying at CELOP (the English school for international students at BU) to improve my English, which was then mostly academic. During the following four months, I quickly found myself confronting a new language and new ways of thinking that were completely unfamiliar to me.
After passing the TOEFL – a test of written and spoken English – in January, I officially began my university journey at the School of Aerospace Engineering at Boston University.
The next four years were a series of personal satisfactions and new incentives to do more. BU gave me so much, academically and beyond: the cohesive environment and the ethnic and cultural diversity pushed me to open up to new friendships, which over the years proved to be beautiful, strong, and lasting.
From February to July 2009, I spent a semester abroad at the University of Dresden with a group of 20 students from Boston University.
There, I took four courses in the engineering department and came into contact with a new culture and language. Additionally, the academic environment at BU stimulated me to do a lot, at a notably fast pace. I developed new passions, including the study of complex systems, especially socio-technical systems.
And so, during the summer of 2010, I was chosen, out of various candidates, by a laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to work on a research project on aerospace systems.
In May 2011, I graduated “Magna Cum Laude,” as the top student in the 2011 class of the Aerospace Engineering department. An excellent result, beyond my expectations.
As my experience at Boston University was nearing its end, I started looking across the Charles River, where the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is located. Several months before my graduation, I had already completed applications for two Master’s programs at Stanford University and MIT. Academic achievements alone are not enough if you do not demonstrate great vision and determination. To my immense joy, both institutions recognized this and admitted me to their respective programs. I chose the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, they also offered me a position as a researcher at the “SEAri” (Systems Engineering Advancement Research Initiative) lab, where I was able to deepen my passion for studying complex systems. The lab not only provided me with a monthly salary but also offered a scholarship that covered the costs of both Master’s programs for all three years.
In September 2011, I began taking courses in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Then, in January 2013, after completing most of the courses for my first Master’s degree, I began taking courses for my second Master’s in Engineering Systems, specializing in the study of socio-technical aspects and decision analysis that occurs during the early stages of complex systems design. At the same time, I was able to pursue my own research project, which led to the publication of six articles and my final thesis (available at this address: http://seari.mit.edu/documents/theses/SM_RICCI.pdf).
In June 2014, after three years of personal and professional growth, I completed both Master’s programs and turned towards a new chapter in my life. Several months earlier, I had already accepted a job offer from a company in New York. So, in August 2014, I moved to New York and started my job as a Data Scientist in September.
Now I live in New York. During the day, I analyze and model data in Manhattan, and in the evening, I return to my home in Brooklyn, where, with my girlfriend, I dedicate myself to the creation and enjoyment of art.
I thank my mother and father with love, who have always supported me in my decisions, even when they saw their only son leave for the first time.
Over the years, I have developed a deep relationship with the founder of the scholarship, Pasquale Freda. Pasquale has become a life example to me, due to his moral depth and philanthropy. His scholarship, an opportunity for young people from Irpinia, is a pure act of unprecedented altruism. I recognize with gratitude that this has allowed me to pursue and achieve goals that, for me, were once pure utopia.
During the dinner to celebrate my graduation, I thanked Pasquale with a plaque that reads: “In great appreciation for the person who entirely redefined the governing equations of the motion of my life.”
Email contact: nikoricci@gmail.com
Testimonials from Scholarship Winners: Their Academic and Professional Journey, Accompanied by Sincere Thanks:
Special Thanks from the President of Boston University