Luna Mendy, athlete-student and kickboxing champion

Luna Mendy is a 22-year-old economics student at our University and she just brought home the silver medal at the European Kickboxing Championships in Maribor (Slovenia), after winning the Italian title for 8 years and arriving second in the 2015 and 2017 World Championships. (Kickboxing is a combat sport which originated in Japan and then became popular in the U.S.A. It combines kicks from oriental martial arts with boxing-like punches).
She combines her top-level athletic results with a passion for horseback riding and a vivid interest for marketing and communication, which brought her to co-fund a communication agency.   
This incredibly eclectic and active girl has decided to choose the athlete-student status, an option  that Ca’ Foscari introduced to allow people with sport-related responsibilities to live their University life in the best way possible. 

When did your passion for kickboxing start? 

It’s a sport I’ve practiced since I was 5 or 6, my parents have a gym and I started there, along with other sports. Since 2009, I do it competitively. In 2011 I won the WKC world title in Cadiz, Spain and then I went on to become the 2012 and 2013 Junior World Champion. I arrived second in the Senior category at the 2015 and 2017 World Championships and then I got the silver medal at the European Championships in Slovenia. I’ve been the Italian champion for 8 times now.
People seem to think kickboxing is exclusively for men, like boxe, but the number of women kickboxers has been growing, especially in the past year, with a 13% increase just in Europe. Furthermore, Kickboxing has just been recognized by the International Olympic Committee, so the Olympic Games shouldn’t be too far! 

What are you studying at Ca’ Foscari?

I got my Bachelor’s Degree in “Economics and Management” last July and then I enrolled in the “Innovation and Marketing” Master’s Degree, with the athlete-student status. I’ve been accepted for a double Diploma in France with ESCP.
I’m also a member of the MARKETERs Club association, which gave me the chance to discover my passion for marketing and communication, so much so that I’ve founded LGC Web Agency, together with my partner Giovanni Conte. With time, this activity grew and it now has a good portfolio of clients and companies. It also allowed us to partner up with other Ca’ Foscari students and Alumni. Thanks to this agency, I’m putting the things I studied into practice.
The world of digital communication is extremely dynamic and ever-changing, but Ca’ Foscari provided me with a great background to start with. The Bachelor’s Degree really opened up my mind and made me understand what my true interests were, with the Master’s Degree I’m honing my skills. I was very happy when I found out about the athlete-student status this year, because I had already experienced what it means to balance University and sport, while trying to graduate in time. Now, in the event of a competition and a final happening on the same date, I’ll have the chance to take the test another day. 

Kickboxing isn’t the only sport in your life, right?

I’ve also done horseback riding at a competitive level, but I had to quit in 2011 due to the international kickboxing activity. I’ve actually gone back to horseriding for 2 years now, and this year I won the regional championships in my category, which gave me the chance to take part in the Fitetrec Ante Italian Championships in Arcinazzo (Rome)

What are you goals at the moment? 

When it comes to sport, I would like to be able to train better to rise to the very top and win next year’s world Kickboxing championships. (Luna is already second in world rankings). As far as horse riding is concerned, I would like to participate in some obstacle course competitions.
University-wise, next year I will move to Paris for the ESCP courses. I also wish for the activity with LGC to continue growing like last year, so I can improve professionally, in the field of digital communication. 

We would also like to add that Luna received a special prize in the Treviso Woman of the Year 2018 contest, during the last Treviso Creativity Week.

Find out more on how to register for the athlete-student status