giuseppe di cera of ladue horton watkins high school
While year-end activities for students across the country have been put to a halt, that’s not preventing senior Giuseppe Di Cera from forging ahead with his future plans. In fact, he says seeing people come together in a crisis has strengthened his determination to build a career in law and politics.

Before the outbreak, Di Cera was named a delegate to the highly competitive United States Senate Youth Program, which grants scholarships and brings two students from each state to Washington, D.C., for hands-on learning about federal lawmaking. He also was named chair of Ladue Mayor Nancy Spewak’s Youth Council, which exposes students to the workings of local government. Di Cera says he was looking forward to both experiences, but he is making the best of the situation.

What is your family background?
I was born in St. Louis, but my family originally is from Sicily. My parents moved here from Italy in 1990.

How have you served your school and community so far?
I’m involved in our student leadership program, which brings young people together to fix problems. I helped develop a new class scheduling system that keeps students more organized and allows teachers to plan better. I’m also vice president of our National Honor Society chapter, and I work with a program that mentors freshmen. I helped create a website that lists job opportunities for students, and last summer, I worked on a project at Washington University to raise awareness of crimes against humanity. I also am involved with UNICEF and the Special Olympics.

What attracts you most about politics and public service?
I’m a people person. I love being around others, hearing about their experiences and helping them whenever I can; that’s really the essence of who I am. I also like to create rigorous challenges for myself, and I’m looking forward to the opportunities that politics will bring.

How are you staying busy at home?
I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors with my soccer ball! For me, it’s more than a game; it’s a passion. I’m always thinking about it. I stay in shape by practicing and doing drills. When this crisis is over, the first thing I plan to do is call my friends, get together and kick a ball around.

What are your future plans?
I’m going to the University of Chicago in the fall. I plan to play soccer and study business, economics and public policy. I think the work I’ve done so far will create a lot of opportunities for me to get exposure to the political world. I want to work on campaigns, go to law school and eventually run for office.

As part of its sponsorship, Sport Court has made a donation to UNICEF on behalf of Giuseppe.