by Gabriel Brolli

From overcoming societal limitations in Brazil to pursuing his Specialising master's in International Marketing Management in Milan, Gustavo’s story is one of courage, identity, and international ambition at Università Cattolica.

For many students from underrepresented backgrounds, like Gustavo Lopes de Paula from Brazil, society places early limits on their ambitions. “People told me I shouldn’t go to university, that fields like Law, Medicine, or Finance weren’t meant for someone like me,” Gustavo recalls. But for Gustavo, the greatest obstacle wasn’t a lack of opportunity – it was the pressure not to dream.

“I always wanted to be more than what people said I could be. I’m a Black man from a very humble background, and I’ve faced a lot of limitations and people telling me I wouldn’t be able to do certain things,” says Gustavo Lopes de Paula, who made his way from Brazil to enrol in the Specialising Master in International Marketing Management at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Of all the things he didn’t have while growing up, the one he misses the most is time. When he was 14, he had his first work experience as a “jovem aprendiz” – a Brazilian government programme that helps young people gain work experience and professional training while still in school.

With massive competition for public universities in Brazil, Gustavo kept shutting out the voices around him and earned a degree in Marketing and Advertising at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), securing a spot while competing with 45 people for one place. Always craving more, he also studied Public Relations.

His next step? He left the calm and provincial Minas Gerais to move to São Paulo, the economic capital of Brazil.
When Gustavo moved to São Paulo – a bustling metropolis known as Brazil’s economic heart – this transition wasn’t easy. “In my first months, my boss told me São Paulo wasn’t for people like me and that I should go back,” he says. Rather than accept rejection, Gustavo used those words as fuel to keep going.

He put those words in the same box as all the other things people had told him – a place he will never look for – and kept going.

Once he built a great professional network and had amazing experiences with well-known brands, he felt like he’d reached a ceiling. “I’ve since proved, not just to my former boss but to myself and everyone else – that the market is for me. I’ve had amazing experiences. Everything people doubted someone like me could achieve, I’ve made a point to pursue. This master is one of those things – something no one believed I could do, and here I am.”

And in Italy, he’s been exposed to experiences that make him feel alive, describing himself as “curious by nature.” The internationalisation in his class, the lectures, the company visits – everything makes him have more questions to which he’s so ready to look for answers. “I’m exposed to ideas I would never have had in Brazil. That’s what makes me a better person and a better professional: living through things and connecting with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

But, of course, he misses Brazil. “I even cried once while eating feijoada at this place called Eskina 28, on Viale Monza, near Loreto.” Feijoada is a traditional Brazilian stew made with black beans and a variety of meats, typically served with rice and farofa (toasted cassava flour). “I have a group of Brazilian friends here I met through Cattolica. We hang out, we chat. Speaking Portuguese really lifts my spirits.”

While trying to keep up with everything – working remotely for a Brazilian company, studying at Cattolica, travelling across Europe, doing sports (CrossFit, specifically) and finding new things to be curious about – he keeps going. “My days are packed and sometimes it’s exhausting. But with time, you adapt to the metro, to the food, to the people. You just have to be patient.”

As a 28-year-old who has been through a lot, he recognises he’s got to a point in his life where everything is smoother and he can pursue more balance. All of it to achieve his main goal: “I want to give my family – and myself – a sense of stability we’ve never had.”