Giovanni Del piero
Fall 2024 John Jay Fellow
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
College: University of Dallas
Degree: B.A in Politics, Double Concentration in Ethics and Theology
Giovanni Del Piero graduated cum laude from the University of Dallas in May of 2024. He completed a Major in Politics and a Double Concentration in Ethics and Theology.
Giovanni served in various leadership roles while at the University of Dallas. He was an officer for multiple organizations, including the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Thomistic Institute, and UD’s American Enterprise Institute Executive Council chapter. He also served as a Senator in UD’s Student Government, and wrote as a staff writer for UD’s student run newspaper The Cor Chronicle. He became the paper’s Editor-in-Chief his senior year and oversaw numerous improvements and changes to the paper’s structure and content. His thesis was titled “Fear God, Honor the King: Church and State Relations in the Early Christian East”, and was a finalist for the UD Politics Department’s best thesis award.
Additionally, Giovanni also participated in various programs outside of UD during his college years. He participated in the American Enterprise Institute's Summer Associates Program and their Summer Honors Program during the summer of 2022, as well as worked as an intern for the Institute on Religion and Democracy. While at IRD, he wrote articles for the organization’s blog on a variety of topics, including Church and State relations, religious liberty cases, and inter-denominational conflicts.
In the summer of 2023, Giovanni was a Shaftesbury Fellow with the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy, where he completed a research paper on Eastern Orthodoxy’s teachings regarding religious liberty. He later presented this paper to Orthodox lay people, seminarians, and priests who were affiliated with the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, a university student organization designed to build fellowship among Orthodox Christians. He has also had independent writing published in outlets such as Public Discourse.
Giovanni is looking forward to building Christian community and fellowship during his time with the John Jay Fellows. After the fellowship, Giovanni hopes to pursue a career in research and policy development related to religious liberty issues.
In his spare time, Giovanni enjoys going on runs, reading, and visiting historical sites.