BIOGRAFIA

Biography

My journey to become an Italian teacher started with the opportunity given me by Bucknell University. In the summer of 2014 I left my home town Monza, after graduating from the Università Statale di Milano, to work as an Italian TA and AI in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. I still remember the first class I taught: it was 7 p.m. of Tuesday and the students had their first two day of Italian 101. I reviewed formal and informal greetings, and introduced numbers from 1 to 10 to these class of scared freshmen. They did not know that I was as scared as they were while facing this new adventure in my life!
After that class everything was easier, but not less challenging. I stayed at Bucknell University for one year, teaching at various levels and taking care of the Tavola Italiana and of the Italian Club. One of the activities that I liked the most was cooking lasagne with the students. We followed my mum’s recipe (who would have thought it would cross the Atlantic Ocean?). The result was surprisingly good and I think few more students decided to continue their career in the department thanks to those lasagne.
Then the time to say good bye to Pennsylvania came, but a new chapter of my life began at the University of Texas at Austin that gave me the opportunity to peruse a master and Ph.D. in Italian studies. Time at UT is flying by quickly between classes, departmental meetings, course work, and conferences. I wish these “intellectual boom” that I am experiencing could last forever and follow me in my future career as a full-time professor.