SHE DREAMS OF A CAREER IN A LAW FIRM, SHE IS PASSIONATE ABOUT ART, LITERATURE AND CINEMA AND WHEN SHE ARRIVED AT BOCCONI SHE WASN'T THAT SELFCONFIDENT. THAT'S WHO IS VALERIA COSMAI, LAW STUDENT AND STUDENTS REPRESENTATIVE ON THE UNIVERSITY'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A chat with Valeria Cosmai, student in her fourth year of Law and students representative on the Board of Directors of the University, is enough to understand how passionate she is about representation. Whether it comes to her hobbies, exams, family and childhood, she somehow always ends up talking about the Bocconi community, the needs of the university and of students. A few days ago, Valeria participated in her first board meeting: "It was exciting to be the only student among many professionals, including President Mario Monti, Rector Gianmario Verona and CEO Bruno Pavesi," she admits. “I slowly got more confident, also because they asked my opinion so many times. It was a stimulating meeting: it is good to discover that there is mutual listening and strong synergy between university and students”.

Valeria is the first one in her family to dream of a career in a law firm - her father is a police officer, her mother is a homemaker. “I decided to study Law because in the future I see myself as a corporate lawyer, and this experience on the Board, which everyday requires me to seek compromises between opposite needs, will surely be useful,” she says, “but we never know what the the future holds and I am open to any new opportunity. Unforeseen events often change life for the better."

Valeria however, to become this outgoing and self-confident, has worked on herself for a long time: "I've always been shy, there are people who find it easy and natural to talk in public, for me it has not always been so, I had to challenge myself," explains the Milanese student. She started from the very beginning of the first year to explore all the students associations and representative groups. The associations in which she is more active are the artistic ones, "I am passionate about reading, cinema and ancient art, perhaps because I attended classical high school." Associations are just one of the many things that Valeria appreciates of the university: "What makes Bocconi a special place are the people: from those who study to those who work here. When I arrived I imagined a competitive environment full of sharks, instead I discovered a place where collaboration reigns, where everyone is ready to help and where students often put aside individualism for the good of the community."