Simone Frigerio is 26 years old, he is autistic and for two years he worked as a waiter at the PizzAut restaurant in Cassina de’ Pecchi, one of the two locations of the pizzeria founded by Nico Acampora which hires young autistic people as waiters and in the kitchen and integrates them into the world of work by offering them a protected and training environment to develop professional and social skills. It was here that Simone learned to relate to colleagues and customers, to work in a team and to manage the unexpected, all skills that have allowed him to establish himself today even outside the catering context. But Simone didn’t limit himself to being a waiter: he combined work and university, pursuing his studies with determination.
Master’s degree in Economics and Commerce
And now his efforts have been rewarded as last Friday he obtained his master’s degree in Economics and Business at the University of Milan Bicocca with 104 out of 110. Simone is a “high-functioning” autistic person, i.e. with a very high IQ. For him, the degree is an exceptional result also because he reached the finish line of the master’s degree as a working student, preparing for exams while waiting tables, something that many try to do without succeeding. To do so he faced daily challenges, but managed to balance study, work and personal life, with the constant support of his family. He never hid behind his frailties, but fought to make his dream become a reality.
Once a week he still works as a volunteer at PizzAut
Today Simone has been hired in a multinational company with a role that enhances his skills in marketing and finance, consistent with his studies and what he has learned. Yet, despite his new job, Simone maintains a strong bond with the PizzAut experience which shaped him so much that he decided to return as a volunteer once a week, to share his story with other young people with autism and, who knows, inspire some of them to follow in his footsteps.
PizzAut’s celebratory post
Nico Acampora personally wanted to praise his story through a post published on the PizzAut social page in which he wrote:
Can a PizzAut student graduate in economics and business? Simone is an extraordinary guy. And I’m not saying this because he’s autistic, I’m saying this because today Simone is taking a five-year degree in economics and commerce at the University of Milan. Simone graduates with 104 out of 110 and does so while working. For 2 years he was a waiter at PizzAut and while serving pizzas he studied and prepared for exams. Today Simone no longer works at PizzAut but has been hired in a marketing and finance office of a large multinational.
Then he added, praising the family’s commitment and encouraging other kids like him to follow his path:
A job in line with his studies but which would never have happened without PizzAut, without having strengthened Simone’s social and relational skills. Even autistic people with a very high IQ like Simone struggle in this society of ours and Simone’s extraordinary parents know this well and have made many sacrifices with him to achieve this result. Today Simone is a doctor in Economics and Commerce, he works for a multinational but he has decided that once a week he wants to volunteer at PizzAut with other autistic kids who are very different from him due to their cognitive characteristics… This is also why Simone is an extraordinary man. Happy birthday doctor, we are all so proud of you.
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