Students
Students Majoring in Italian
Casey Card '10 Jillian Ferrara ‘10 Jessamine Kelley ‘10 Ingrid Nieters ’10 |
Gretchen Knoth ’11 Elizabeth Svokos ‘11 Kelsey Lynch ’11 Janna Weaver ‘11 |
Students Majoring in Italian and Romace Languages
Chelsea Choate ‘10
ccoate@brynmawr.edu
Aliette Gonzales ‘10
agonzales@brynmawr.edu
Maria Miranda ‘10
mfmiranda@brynmawr.edu
Students Majoring in Italian and Comparative Literature
Rayna Andrews
randrews@brynmawr.edu
Anna Bosco '11
abosco@haverford
Didem Uca
duca@brynmawr.edu
Students Minoring in Italian
Jocie Nelson ‘10
janelson@brynmawr.edu
MaryAnn Kowalski ‘11
mkowalski@brynmawr.edu
Students' Thoughts About the Italian Department and the Pisa Program
"I never dreamt of learning Italian, let alone majoring in it. I loved my first year Elementary class with Professor Ute Striker; in fact, the German’s passion of Italian literature and culture pulled me deeper into the loving, wonderful, family-like world of the Italian Department. I have enjoyed all my classes and have developed close friendships with most of my professors and fellow majors. We met regularly for dinners and lunches, or for a good cup of caffè, and had a good time together (though this was perhaps due to my own overly-enthusiastic passion for food). The classes, ranging from Dante and Renaissance to a study of Primo Levi and other Holocaust-related works, were wonderfully insightful and taught me a great deal about our world. As the senior Italian major representative 2008-09, I had the honor of getting the whole department together for dinners and teas (not quite like the old English Victorian-style tea parties, I imagine, but fun nonetheless), and talk to the prospective majors about my own experiences. Now that I am starting at Jefferson Medical College this August (2009), I feel happy and proud of having written my Italian thesis on Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, and I feel nothing but love for my Italian family. I am especially thankful to all my professors for introducing me to this wonderful culture, and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to study abroad in Siena and meet the fun, lively people of Tuscany." (Pritika Gupta '09)
"For me, the Summer Study in Pisa program was transformative. I was able to solidify my Italian language skills by taking my second year of Italian during the six week program and I emerged with a degree of confidence in my speaking and writing that I would not have been able to imagine prior to going. The top-notch classroom instruction coupled with constant reinforcement through everyday life in Italy, as well as the focus that comes with taking a single class, was crucial to my language development. The best part was that I didn't even realize how much I had improved until the final weeks! I also loved meeting a new group of people, and making new, close friends. We quickly found our favorite restaurant and made friends with the owner, which made me feel like I really knew the city. We also took amazing trips on the weekends (no class on Fridays!) which were not only fun but allowed for practice in new venues to speak and learn the language. I miss Italy so much, and I can't wait to go back during my junior year abroad program. The summer in Pisa gave me the confidence and the desire to pursue a challenging immersion program for this next step in my Italian education." (Emily Wiseman '11)
"Studying abroad in Pisa three summers ago was an exciting learning experience for me. It is a great city for language immersion, as most of the tourists are concentrated around the Leaning Tower, and the rest of the city is mostly locals. As a result, I was able to vastly improve my language skills and grow familiar with Italian culture. The Pisan people were friendly and welcoming. The location of the city provided easy access to the beach and other Italian cities by train or bus, which was easy and inexpensive. My friends and I were able to travel and explore Tuscany and the Italian Riviera when we weren't in class. However, academic life also stimulating. Both of the professors that I had, Professor Ricci and Professor Zollino, made class dynamic and interactive. We read and discussed literature, talked about Italian life and history, and worked on writing skills. The Pisa program was both a fun and valuable academic experience for me, and I highly recommend it to any students currently studying or just beginning Italian! " (Clare Brandon '08)
