Maestro Kawa

While Kygo’s concert was incredible, the real reason for our return to Milan is far more significant: Natalia’s Master Thesis defense. After a year plus of relentless work, countless sleepless nights, and unwavering determination, Monday was finally here.

Our day started in typical Italian academic fashion – chaotic and disorganized. Natalia had to arrive at SPD for a 9:00 AM roll call, despite her actual defense being scheduled for much later. We grabbed a ShareNow, just like we’d done hundreds of times before, and headed to the school after our traditional “delegation breakfast” in the hotel room – rice cakes, Philadelphia, and ham.

While Natalia handled the morning formalities, I found a spot in the park across from SPD. Watching dogs play in the winter sun, I split my time between managing Nutrified’s Cyber Monday promotion and reflecting on how far we’d come already. This past year has been transformative – Natalia pursuing her master’s, our move back to Poland an the growth of Nutrified.

We spent the hours before her defense at Bovisa Garden, our go-to co-working space nearby. I kept busy working on the new nutrified.com website – we’re moving from WordPress to a custom Next.js and Medusa stack. It’s been weeks of work, but with Windsurf AI’s help, I am finally entering the final stretch. Between coordinating Green Monday orders and website updates, I couldn’t help but feel contempt with how things are going – Nutrified achieved a 300% year-over-year growth during BFCM (Black Friday, Cyber Monday – the busiest weekend of all year in E-Commerce).

When it was time for her defense, I dropped Natalia off, wishing her good luck and I headed back to our old neighborhood. I wanted to take a long walk down our old paths, hop on a quick call to my mom and also take care of a special mission. The basement apartment where we used to live was still empty, probably still harboring its infamous mold. But I wasn’t there for nostalgia – I was assembling Natalia’s success care package from Esselunga (our infamous Superstore): her favorite San Carlo Lime and Red Pepper chips, protein bars, and a Raffaello chocolate bar.

Literally perfect timing occurred, as I walked out the shop, yhe message came: she was done. Shaken but finished. We met her local best friend Klara at Bovisa Garden, where Aperol Spritzes (and a Hugo) helped calm the nerves as we waited for the grade announcements. We might have gotten a bit too comfortable with those Aperols, sitting outside in the cold, munching on chips and sharing what had happened in our lives since October. Finally, the clock struck 17:45 and it was time to head back, a little wobbly but with a quick stride.

The grade announcement felt like time stood still. The professor started reading scores, but everything was a blur until Natalia’s name came up: 69/70 overall average for the year. Then a one-point correction for the master thesis – the maximum possible for her. 70/70. I tool a long breath of relieve, realizing that the school had recognize what I’d witnessed all year – the late nights, the stress, the absolute dedication to excellence.

Suddenly, the professor continued, uttering the words that made it all worth it: “Of course, with honors.” The classroom erupted in applause. Everyone knew how deserved it was. Tears of joy rolled down Natalia’s cheeks as it sank in – she’d done it. Not just done it, but excelled. A first-generation college graduate in her family, now a Maestro with honors. (Maestro sounds much more fun than Masters Degree). Only four honors were awarded out of 27 students, two for extraordinary work, and Natalia held one of them.

The celebrations afterward are a happy blur of hugs, congratulations, and phone calls home. We ended up at Assaje, of course, celebrating with pizza and more Aperol. But the food and drinks were secondary to the achievement – Natalia had proven what I already knew all along: she’s exceptional. A year of sacrifices, of balancing studies with work, of pushing through exhaustion and self-doubt, had culminated in this moment of triumph.

I couldn’t be prouder of her. Not just for the grades or the honors, but for the determination, resilience, and unwavering commitment she showed throughout this journey. Watching her transform from uncertain about pursuing further education and the field she’d like to work in – all the way to graduating with highest honors and a dream of Expo-excellence has been incredible.

Congratulations, Maestro Kawa. You did it.

Love from Milan,
Julian