In his suitcase, Andrea Cadelano had only six months. Time to learn English, "have an experience", look at the world from another angle. But as often happens in the most authentic journeys, the destination has transformed into home.

Andrea left Cagliari with the desire to measure himself against something bigger, something new. But he didn't just bring ambition and skills: he also brought with him a deep sense of belonging and a sense of duty that has roots in the values of his land.

Thus, while he was building a solid and innovative company in Miami, he was also laying the foundations for solidarity initiatives that today reach the United States and as far as Africa .

"I left Sardinia not because I didn't love it, on the contrary, my roots are deeply tied to that wonderful island, but because I felt the need to test myself in a new context, where I could grow professionally and realize some projects that, unfortunately, were difficult to develop there."

A painful personal event also marked that turning point: the loss of his father. An emptiness that Andrea transformed into a driving force. The initial idea of a short stay extended to become a new life, made of work, responsibility and also a lot of altruism.

"I left with the idea of staying six months," he says, "to improve my English and have an experience abroad. I had a student visa valid for five years and, almost without realizing it, I ended up building a new life here."

Before his American breakthrough, Andrea had already traced an important professional path in Sardinia : from finance to media, collaborating with newspapers and realities such as Sardegna 1, Videolina, Radiolina, L'Unione Sarda and the portals of the PBM group. An experience that mixed communication, creativity and civic commitment.

«It was an intense and creative period – he recalls – that left me with a lot on a human and professional level».

The flight to the United States starts thanks to a suggestion that came almost by chance, from an English teacher. Among the hypotheses on the table, London, New York and San Francisco. Then the choice of Miami, where the favorable climate and the more accessible economic conditions convince him.

«Florida, compared to other American states, also offers numerous tax breaks and financial incentives for new businesses: a fundamental element for those, like me, who wanted to build something from scratch».

That “something” is now a company specialized in environmental services, sanitation and safety. But the young man from Cagliari did not stop at the logic of profit .

In the hardest moments of the pandemic, he made his means available free of charge to help the community, disinfecting public spaces, participating in initiatives for cancer patients and founding a charity – Victor Water for Life – which has already brought drinking water to ten villages in Kenya.

"I deeply believe in giving something back," he explains. "I started out alone, without knowing anyone, but today I feel the duty to help those in difficulty, just as I myself was helped in the hardest moments."

But there is something that Miami will never be able to give him. You can sense it when he talks about memories, the scents of the Mediterranean scrub, certain Sardinian dawns that are not forgotten .

"Affections, first of all. My family, my friends, my grandchildren. And then the smells, the tastes, the sunlight. You never forget them."

For Andrea Cadelano, Sardinia is never really far away . Not only because he returns whenever he can, but because every gesture – entrepreneurial or humanitarian – has the form of someone who starts from far away, without ever cutting the thread.

"Yes, I'm coming back. At least for the holidays. But in the meantime I'll continue to build, to work, to give my contribution here. Because, even far away, a piece of Sardinia always stays with me."

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