Our #MakeaDifference Series: Traveling the world with Francesca Giarrante

As part of our #MakeaDifference series, we’re focusing on the amazing stories we’ve become a part of. ASN is here to make a difference in the lives of our clients and our employees, and this story really highlights how much we care about the lives we touch. Read on to learn about Francesca Giarrante, one of our outstanding Customer Care team members.

Francesca Giarrante: following her dreams, no matter the cost

Francesca Giarrante was born in San Benedetto dei Marsi, a small village 125km from Rome with less than 4,000 inhabitants.

“As the eldest of three siblings in a strictly Catholic family, I had a lot of pressure to meet high expectations,” Francesca explains. “I knew I had to work hard to be able to afford my dreams, but that wasn’t enough to stop me!”

Her childhood dream was to become a judge, and at the age of 19, she moved to Rome to study law at the famous La Sapienza Università di Roma. She was willing to work hard to achieve this goal, and she had to take on part time work to afford the financial cost of the course, which was beyond her family’s means.

Rethinking her plans
Unfortunately, her parents divorced a year after she began her course, leaving her with even less financial support. This threw her dream into jeopardy, and she was forced to stop studying to take on full-time work, initially planning to work for 12 months to afford her tuition.
This 12-month plan soon turned into a four-year working career, taking employment across many jobs to make the money she needed. It was then that Francesca realized her dream was now to see the world and learn different languages.
“I knew I wanted to see as much of the world as I could, and turn that experience into something I could channel into a career,” Francesca says.
She changed her course to study French and English, and despite working full time, was able to finish her Bachelor’s degree three years later with a remarkable grade.

A semester in Paris changed her life

As one of the best students on her course, Francesca was given life-changing financial support for an exchange semester spent in Paris. During these six months, Francesca fell in love with the city, and vowed to return when her Bachelor’s course was completed. She returned in summer 2012.

“I loved its international atmosphere, its charm and its beautiful architecture,” Francesca says. “It was a dream come true to return, but I knew money was still going to be an issue for me.”

She was still working in bars to fund her newfound French life. Determined to see the world, she trained for five months as cabin crew and was successfully accepted in 2016 for a role with Etihad Airways.

I knew I had to work hard to be able to afford my dreams, but that wasn’t enough to stop me!

Seeing the world – and helping others to explore

Her work as Premier Class Cabin Crew – first for Etihad, then for British Airways – enabled her to see more than 49 different countries. She moved from Paris to Abu Dhabi to London, practicing her language skills all the while.

“I absolutely loved seeing the beautiful places this world has to offer,” Francesca explains. “But I realized I wanted to help others, and maybe enable them to see the world as well.”

In 2019, she changed careers again, working with Now Health International to help French and Italianspeaking clients (who were coincidentally ASN clients too!).

At the end of 2020, she joined ASN as a temporary Key Account Manager, and her extraordinary intuition for client needs and her experience in the insurance industry made it impossible not to offer her a permanent role with the team.