Franco Villar ’15

Year: 3rd (Class of 2015)

Major: Anthropology and Economics

Hometown: Sarasota, FL

Activities around Grounds: Latino Student Alliance, One in Four, Latino/Hispanic Peer Mentoring Program, Newcomb Hall Facilities Operations, IMP Society.

Why are you involved with these organizations? What motivates you / inspires you in these areas of your UVa experience?

UVa is a great place, but there’s still a good amount of room for improvement. Hardship and intolerance often goes unnoticed or uncorrected, and I try my best to reverse this trend. I like to join groups that help link people together so that we can learn from new perspectives and address issues collectively rather than in divisions. When I help plan an event for LSA or do a presentation for 1 in 4, it feels good to know that I’m opening a space for productive thought and dialogue. Being surrounded by awesome and inspirational people makes the work even more satisfying.

What has been the most rewarding moment / experience for you during your time at UVa?Semester at Sea, by far. I spent nearly 4 months adventuring, eating, and learning more than I could handle alongside hundreds of absolute bad-asses. It changed everything for me. 

Proudest moment at UVa:

End of Hispanic Heritage Month,  2012. I was in charge of planning 15+ events during a 4 week period. I had no prior experience in event-planning or working hard, so things got really sucky and difficult at times. At the end of it all, though, I was really proud of what I managed to accomplish. The month went pretty well and I definitely learned a lot about event-planning and myself.

What do you hope to do after graduating from UVa?

I have no idea, and I’m fairly content with that. It keeps more doors open. All I know is that I’m leaving the country as soon as I can so I can keep on exploring and meeting new people. Hopefully I can use whatever I’ve learned in the past few years to make some sort of positive change somewhere in the world

Something people don’t know about you:

Olives are the only food that I’ve never managed to like. I’ll eat and cherish absolutely anything edible, but for some reason olives make my taste-buds very, very sad.