“I was only eight when I decided that I wanted to be a doctor”  Tommaso tells me remembering the old good times. “I broke my leg and had to have surgery. At first I was a little scared, but my fear fled as soon as I grasped that the environment and the people at the hospital were okay. I would consider this episode as the spark that lit the fire for my interest in medicine, the start of a great passion.”

Tommaso cultivates his interest with dedication; as a matter of fact he recently went on work experience to a hospital in the UK .  “I was lucky enough to have the chance to witness, not physically but via video, a heart surgery”.

“So do you like cardiology?” I ask Tommaso.

“Well, I am still very unsure of what kind of doctor I want to become, this is because I would like to help everybody but being specialised means that you only get to help certain people. I just feel like I should help others.”

When I then pose the question, “What do your parents think about your wish to become doctor?” Tommaso responds with no hesitation that they totally agree and support him in his decisions.

“Apart from medicine I really enjoy acting. I discovered my acting skills while being part of the Grease* cast, I was actually very diffident when my friends signed me up … but I have to admit that I love it now.” Tommaso carries on. “I really like music, but sport is another important factor in my life: if you feel good physically you feel good mentally and that’s the most important thing of all.”

“What do you think you’ll be doing in 3 years?” I ask him.

“I hope I’ll be in college. I would like to be able to enter Harvard or Boston University”.

As the conversation goes on I acknowledge that, Tommaso thinks that in life what is important is balance: religion or sentiment and science or reason should be equal in importance in every-day life.

* Tommaso and his fellow Year 12 and 10 students will be appearing in the high school’s production of Grease at Teatro Litta, Milan the 7th and 8th of May 2015.