Alumni Story

Make time to learn from others – not just professors and classmates.”

Luca recalls his thought process when, as a teenager living overseas, he decided on Catawba College: “Choosing Catawba was a bit of a leap of faith—like it is for many international students. The sheer size of the U.S. and the number of universities can feel overwhelming, and not being able to visit any colleges beforehand only added to the adventure. But I was drawn to the U.S. because I believed the liberal arts model would let me explore multiple academic fields in depth, and college athletics would give me the chance to keep playing tennis at a high level.”

“What ultimately brought me to Catawba was being recruited for the tennis team,” Luca explains. There was a reason that Catawba particularly appealed to him, “I saw an opportunity to be part of a small, close-knit community where I could balance both athletics and academics.”

Economics was the right fit for Luca as a major. “I was always interested in economics, partly for personal reasons,” Luca shares, “I wanted to understand why economies fall into crisis, in developing countries like Zimbabwe as well as developed countries like Italy and the U.S. Is it just chaos we have to live with or are there explanations we can learn from? Economics let me explore these big questions.”

Luca remarks that there are things he learned at Catawba that he still applies in his work today. He liked the variety of courses offered within his major at Catawba. “I appreciated that the program also offered less traditional options—like programming and statistics—that let me build technical skills I still use in my career today.”

“From an economics perspective, I appreciate that we went beyond standard economic models,” Luca elaborates. “Some courses exposed us to the full breadth of economic thought, giving a holistic and nuanced view of the field. And being able to take independent study courses was another highlight—it gave me the chance to explore topics like economic development in depth and build research skills I still use today.”

Following graduation and obtaining his master’s degree in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, Luca continues to focus on aspects of the worldwide big-picture and the data behind it. He is Senior Data Analyst at the ONE Campaign; a global advocacy organization focused on ending extreme poverty and preventable disease. He explains, “I analyze and interpret data on critical issues like global health and sovereign debt, producing research that informs our advocacy and policy recommendations. A central part of my work is designing data visualizations that translate complex issues and data into clear, engaging stories, helping both policymakers and the public understand the issues behind the numbers. I also develop tools and software that make complex data easier to use—both for our advocacy work and for the wider public.”

A recent project for Luca with ONE Campaign is a collaboration with Google’s Data Commons. Data Commons collects vast amounts of public data and uses AI to make it searchable through natural language; it is a tool that can be used by researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in exploring public data.

With fondness, Luca recalls in particular the positive influence of some of Catawba’s faculty members: the late Dr. Marie-Odile Langhorne, French professor, with whom he would spend time chatting in French. He describes her as “a constant source of support especially during my early days adjusting to life in North Carolina”. He also expresses appreciation for economics professor Dr. Eric Hake. “His mentorship enriched my intellectual curiosity and helped guide me toward graduate school and into my early career.”

Luca encourages students “to make time to learn from others – not just professors and classmates.” He explains, “I’ve been very inspired to learn what others are working on, discovering fields I didn’t even know existed, and learning about exciting innovations. Building those connections has helped me bring new skills and ideas into my work and expand my sense of what’s possible in my career. There are so many fascinating things people are working on, and so much we can learn from their experiences.”