06/11/2025
Meet this Thursday’s Spotlight, Alessia Gozi, a former intern and volunteer at the SSPP who has shared her experience in the interview below;
1. Tell us a bit about yourself — your background and how you got involved with SSPP
I’m Alessia Gozi, originally from Italy, but very much global in spirit and background. Over the years I’ve lived, studied and worked across the U.S., Rome, Norway, Stockholm and Brazil and currently I’m based in Dublin. That international journey has given me a rich lens: embracing different cultures, systems, ways of thinking and always with a curiosity about how people connect, how they thrive, how clarity emerges in messy, beautiful complexity.
Today I bring together two worlds that at first glance might seem distinct, but for me they deeply complement each other. On one side I work at a fast-growing startup (based in Dublin) helping teams get organised, productive and aligned using tools like Notion. On the other side, I’m a breath-work teacher: guiding individuals to calm their nervous systems, reconnect to their bodies and find clarity in their daily life through the power of the breath.
These two paths complement each other as both revolve around clarity, alignment, and flow, one in the external world of systems and collaboration, the other in the inner world of awareness and balance. Together, they form a holistic approach that harmonizes productivity with wellbeing, empowering people to live and work with greater purpose and ease.
My involvement with the SSPP came during my master’s degree at the Stockholm School of Economics. As part of the programme we had an opportunity to volunteer for SSPP and engage in four concrete projects aimed at improving the lives and conditions of community members. I chose to lead one of those projects, and the experience was a profound turning point: it awakened in me a deeper sense of what it means to serve, to witness challenge and possibility, and to drive something meaningful beyond the “standard” trajectory.
2. What motivated you to take part in SSPP
What motivated me was both a desire and a calling. On the one hand I felt I was at a transition point: after many years of studying and working in diverse settings, I sensed I wanted to move beyond personal growth alone, and to engage in something with community impact, something that would stretch me and wake me up. The SSPP volunteering opportunity offered exactly that: a chance to step out of comfort, to collaborate with others, to lead a project that mattered.
On the other hand, I was deeply curious about the real lived challenges and opportunities in the communities we engaged with. Leading one of the four projects meant I got to experience first-hand what change looks like, what the barriers are, what creative solutions emerge when you bring people together with purpose. That sense of contribution and gratitude for the chance to learn through service fuelled my motivation. It wasn’t just about “adding something” to my résumé; it was about being part of a process that moves lives, shifts perspective, and invites compassion and action.
3. What experience or lesson from SSPP has had the biggest impact on your journey?
If I were to pinpoint the most impactful lesson from SSPP it would be this: real change and good things take time. It’s tempting to look for immediate, dramatic impact but often the difference we make is slow, steady, incremental, and ultimately profound. During the project I led, there were moments where progress felt tiny or invisible. And yet, over weeks and months, those small actions accumulated, rippled out, changed conditions, shifted mindsets.
This lesson has since become a guiding principle for both my professional work (helping teams get organised and aligned) and my personal work (teaching breath-work, helping people calm, connect, find clarity). I’ve come to see that whether you’re helping someone restructure their workflow or guiding them to sit with their breath in a moment of discomfort, the small move matters, the gentle shift matters, and over time those matter even more.
4. Where are you now, and how has SSPP shaped your path or perspective?
Currently I’m in Dublin, working at my startup role by day helping teams navigate tools, systems, clarity and productivity and by evening and weekend I’m on the other side of the coin: guiding high-performance professionals in tech, and individuals seeking more rootedness, toward clarity and a grounded nervous system through breath-work. This dual track is, to me, a beautiful expression of my unique path and passion.
SSPP significantly shaped how I see my path and perspective. It shifted me from being simply someone chasing performance or achievement, to someone deeply committed to people impact, connection and service. It made me very aware of the privilege of my background of being born into certain opportunities and the responsibility that comes with that. Because of SSPP, I carry a stronger commitment to give back, to hold space for others, to ensure that what I offer is aligned with a bigger “why”. I believe that the greatest reward in what I do is not just the metrics of productivity or workflow but the warmth, the human shift I witness when someone reorganises their mind and their life and as a result is able to live better.
5. What advice or message would you give to current SSPP or future participants or supporters?
Here’s what I’d love to share:
Dive in wholeheartedly. Meet the programme with openness, curiosity, and a willingness to stretch. The more you let yourself engage, not just attend, the more profound the return.
Bring your full self. Your background, your story, your doubts, your dreams, these don’t need to be filtered. They are precisely what bring richness to the community and the project work.
Embrace the small steps. If you feel your impact is modest or that change is slow, trust that this is part of the journey. Long-term ripple effect often begins with what feels like tiny shifts.
Stay connected. The community that SSPP creates, the network of participants and supporters, is one of the deepest assets. Hold it, nurture it, keep showing up. The heart and support of that community transcend distance and time.
For supporters, my message is: believe in the possibility of people and hold the space, not only for what participants can do, but for who they can be. Your presence, faith and encouragement can amplify the transform that happens.
Whatever your role, participant or supporter, remember: the most meaningful change often begins quietly, in the heart, then finds expression in action. Stay present, stay compassionate, keep serving
