Hi everyone, my name is Giuseppe, and if you are reading this, it is because I deeply need your help to reclaim my future.

In 2015, I enrolled in the Natural Sciences faculty in Turin, Italy. A few years later, unfortunately, I had to freeze my studies: I could no longer afford the costs, and I was battling severe depression. It is a battle I am still fighting today with the support of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and medication, but I have never stopped fighting.

Over the years, I have done everything I could to support myself: I worked on City Sightseeing tourist buses, in supermarkets, in museums, and in many other fields. Unfortunately, the unstable job market in Italy has never allowed me to find a steady position or save any money. For the past three months, I have been working 5 days a week on a farm, in direct contact with animals, but I haven't been paid a single cent yet, and I fear I never will be. In my city, finding decent employment has become a mirage.

This is why I have made a definitive choice: to return to university and finish the last 7 exams standing between me and my dream (Biochemistry, Geology, Mineralogy, Systematic Zoology, Ecology, Paleontology, and my final thesis). Almost all of these courses require mandatory laboratory attendance and field trips, making university a full-time job in itself, which is impossible to combine with working.

Right now, I have zero Euros in my bank account and cannot afford anything. To be able to attend classes and graduate over the next 15 months, I have to face specific, transparent expenses:

University Tuition Fees: around €5,000 (as an overdue student, I am placed in the highest tax bracket).

Study Tools: €700 for a laptop, which is essential since all teaching materials are provided via slides by the professors.

Books and Thesis Material: around €1,200 (calculating roughly 4 books per exam, even just photocopied).

Accommodation in Turin for 15 months: €12.600 (calculating €700/month for a shared room, including the initial deposit).

Living and Living Expenses for 15 months: around €11,000 (including food, public transport pass at €40/month, medical and psychiatric expenses, educational field trips, and a local internship abroad for my thesis, as I wish to do it on exotic animals).

The grand total amounts to €30.500.

I know this is a significant amount, but it represents the only way for me to focus 100% on my studies, escape the cycle of precarious employment, and finally be called a "Naturalist."

A very special dedication:

If, thanks to your support, I manage to reach the finish line and write my thesis, I have already decided to dedicate it to a very special person: Muriel Oddenino, a brilliant marine biologist and researcher who tragically and recently passed away in the Maldives. Muriel was a wonderful friend and a highly respected university colleague with whom I used to spend endless hours studying in the library years ago. Completing this degree is also my way of honoring her memory and the shared passion we had for the natural world.

This degree will open doors to a stable career, whether in Italy or abroad. I have even received a job offer in Norway, but right now I don’t even have the money for a local bus ticket in my hometown, let alone a plane ticket (I will launch a separate fundraiser for that journey later).

Any donation from you, no matter how small, means giving me the solid ground I need to run toward the finish line. To anyone who decides to help, you have my endless thanks and eternal gratitude.

Giuseppe