‘Los 3 Amigos’ at the United Nations

(L-R) Salvatore Zappalà, Ricardo García and Sergio Toro, once classmates at the EUI, have been reunited at the United Nations in New York.

In a happy twist of fate, three former classmates at the EUI recently bumped into one other in an unlikely place: an elevator at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York. Salvatore Zappalà (Italy), Ricardo García (Spain) and Sergio Toro (Chile) were colleagues and friends at the EUI in 1997-98, all of them studying Law in some capacity. Now, it appears, ‘Los 3 Amigos’ have been reunited – each of them having been posted to the Permanent Missions of their respective countries at the UN.

Bumping into his old friends at the UN was ‘a big and wonderful surprise’, Toro told EUI Life. ‘After that beautiful experience at the EUI, it was a nice surprise that came in a very unexpected place.’ All three alumni believe that their time at the EUI was essential for their personal and professional development. After leaving, Toro was posted to the Chilean embassies in Beijing, followed by Washington.

‘The EUI opened my mind to a new level of thinking and allowed me to interact with outstanding people from all over Europe,’ Toro explained, noting that current EUI President Renaud Dehousse was his supervisor. Twenty years after leaving Florence, complete with jet-setting diplomatic careers under their belts, ‘Los 3 Amigos’ are welcome proof that the EUI connection never truly leaves you.