Meet the Executive Team!
The Real World Connections Program is designed to build talented, and dedicated high school student leaders and propel their educational endeavors. With RWC, you can build your leadership skills while serving on the Executive Board! Below are some examples of leaders who have made an impact on Real World Connections and their success stories.
Gianella Fano | RWC Leader and Logistics Manager
The “Black belt” leader of the Real World Connections is Gianella Fano, who is a junior at Mount Olive High School. She has served the RWC Executive team for the past 4 years as a way to give back to her community. Ever since the Summer of 2021, where she participated as a student, she has been involved with the program, completing RWC’s engaging Leadership Boot camps. These Leadership Boot Camps offer a more individualized experience, in which a student can work with peers, and get hands-on training on PMP management, SCRUM, Entrepreneurship, Research, and much more.
Gianella has been a mentor, teaching students about project management, and has been guiding them toward building their own businesses and solving real-world problems. As a result of her hard work and dedication to the program, Gianella earned the Jefferson Award of Leadership in December of 2022, awarded by the founder of RWC, Dr. Osama Eljabiri, PhD., and the head of New Jersey Cybersecurity, Michael Geraghty. She has also received the Certificate of Leadership and the Certificate of Achievement, which allows her to teach students within RWC. Now, Gianella has been working closely with Profesor Eljabiri on executing a project to support her community, while also being a logistics manager for RWC. Gianella is an essential part of the executive team, serving the program with extraordinary leadership, and acting as a role model to students in the program.
Alessandro Mendozza | Executive Team
Introducing another one of RWC’s core Executive team members. Alessandro has been a part of RWC for 3 years leading the opening and closing activities and running the programs. He has played a key role in the RWC Leadership Winter 2022 program, the Spring of 2023 RWC program, the Fall of 2023 RWC program, the Fall of 2023 Leadership Bootcamp, and this current Spring of 2024 RWC program. He continues to serve his community each and every day.
Kevin Huang | Executive Team and Discord Manager
Kevin Huang has been an extraordinary leader and acts as a manager on the Discord platform for RWC. He’s been a part of the program since the beginning of his high school career and has been working with coaches, managing teams, and organizing the logistics of the Real World Connections programs. He is passionate about Computer Science and has made an impactful message on the RWC program, helping Professor Eljabiri manage the workshops and Leadership Bootcamps. Kevin has gone above and beyond in assisting the community and is recognized and respected for his great impact on RWC.
Previous Executive Team Members
Esperanza Baquedano was an executive team board member for 2 years after winning first place in her Leadership Bootcamp Winter of 2023 project, which is a website to aid immigrants on their path to obtaining citizenship.
Justin Pereira, who was an Executive Board member for the Fall of 2023 Program, played a key role in the development of the project, and both team members have worked hard within their projects and commitments they have made to the RWC community.
RWC-Colombia 