1990's
1999
Angela Hertz. In May of 2014, I and my husband Marco Marzulli, PhD and colleague Derek Illar, JD, started the non-profit organization called La Scuola d'Italia Galileo Galilei, an Italian language school and cultural association, that offers after school programs for k-12, as well as adult and family courses, summer camps, Italian film nights, group conversations and lots of other free events for adults and children in the Pittsburgh area. I graduated from Dickinson College with a major in English, and two minors: Italian (only one course shy of the major) and Art History. I subsequently returned to Pittsburgh, continued with my Italian language studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and went to study abroad in Florence, Italy both in 2000 and in 2001-2002. After that time, I returned to Pittsburgh to finish a master's degree in Italian literature in combination with a teaching certificate through the education department, and soon moved on to a career of 14 years of teaching Italian in several different locations to all ages from children to adults. This April 2017, the organization that I co-started has now opened a daycare/preschool, the first of its kind that includes full immersion of the Italian language and possibly other languages as well.
1996
Laura D’Ambrosio. At Dickinson, I was an Italian Studies major and participated in the Bologna program my junior year. My experience in Bologna deeply influenced my life after Dickinson and Italian continues to be a large part of my life today. After graduation from Dickinson, I returned to Rome, Italy to study for my MBA in international finance at St. John's University Rome campus. The additional two years in Italy helped me not only to obtain an MBA, but also to perfect my Italian language skills. While in Rome, I participated in an internship at Fendi in their financial department and upon graduation from my MBA program, I returned to the US and received a job offer from Prada in NYC. At Prada, I was a retail analyst and traveled often to and from Milan for the fashion shows. In 2002, I accepted a job at the university where I had completed my MBA and returned to Rome to work at their campus in Italy. I was responsible for all of the marketing, recruitment, admissions and special events for the Rome campus of St. John's University. In 2004, I met my husband who is Italian and we were married in 2007. We remained in Italy until 2010 and are currently living in Doha, Qatar. I believe that the positive experience that I had in Bologna really expanded my mind and my interest in living abroad and learning about different cultures. In addition, studying Italian and becoming fluent in another language gave me an advantage over other applicants in several of the jobs that I have held throughout my career. I am appreciative that Dickinson puts such a strong emphasis on studying a language and on having an experience in living abroad as it truly has influenced the direction that my life has taken!
1995
Susan Ingall (Fish). My Italian Studies major directly lead to my first job in International Advertising. Quite frankly they needed someone who spoke Italian. I used it throughout my career in Europe as a media planner and negotiator. I used both my French and Italian. My Italian was essential to my work as I was based in UK and booked advertising for my clients in Europe. Obviously France and Italy were my main responsibilities. One of my biggest accounts was to help launch Nike across Europe. Of many jobs, one was to help them understand the Italian media market. I no longer work in advertising, and have taken up a latent passion and now work on a part time basis as a veterinary assistant. But I still use my Italian from time to time. It could be anything from a trip in Italy to an event of my husband's where someone might be more comfortable speaking in Italian. It probably was the most useful major I could have taken.
Andy Miles. Most recently my daughter Sofie visited and toured Dickinson. Her visit inspired me to reflect on my own Dickinson experience. I’m pleased to share a few insights with you now. I came to Dickinson open-minded and somewhat undecided on a major. I knew I had interest in international business. I was advised to choose a foreign language as a major for doing so would enable me to construct a more tailored and somewhat customized curriculum I’d wanted. I quickly chose Italian Studies. I’d lined up a job immediately following graduation working for a wine importer and distributor. While the company had confidence in my ability to develop a sales acumen, I quickly identified significant challenges in negotiating and enforcing agreements with many of the Italian wine producers. Given my fluency in Italian and cultural assimilation, it became my responsibility to manage this business. At the same time, I received a call from the director of the Italian School of Middlebury College, encouraging me to pursue a Master’s Degree in Italian Studies. In 1997, I graduated with an MA in Italian Studies from the Language Schools of Middlebury College. Following graduate school I married into an Italian family. Little did I know I’d find myself immersed in the language and culture to current day – Dickinson was just the beginning. After completing my Master’s, I went to work for Eli Lilly & Company. While I worked principally in the US Affiliate, I collaborated with the Global Product Teams and personnel in the Italian affiliate located in Sesto Fiorentino. In late 2005, I took an opportunity to leverage my knowledge of the pharma industry in a different position/sector as healthcare investment banker. In the years that followed, I expanded my focus to become more of generalist focusing on building and working with a network of investors in the Lugano/Ticino and Lombardy regions in Switzerland and Italy. Since then, I’ve had the privilege to go back and forth from New York to Milan originating deals, raising capital and providing guidance on business development opportunities. Looking back, it’s very clear - my life, in both professional and persona contexts, would not be what it is today had I not become an Italian Studies major at Dickinson.
1993
Katherine Volkmer. While I am not of Italian heritage, I found and continue to find Italian Studies a compelling field of study. Italy has a profound political history from the rise and fall of the Roman empire to the complexity of its political parties since its unification. Italians have made a vast contribution to the literary world (Dante, Goldoni), science and education (da Vinci, Marconi, Montessori), fine arts (Michelangelo, Caravaggio, da Vinci, Botticelli) and music (Monteverdi, Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, not to mention performers such as Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti) as well as cuisine and wine, fashion and even automobiles. Culturally speaking, it is also unbelievably diverse. There are plays and poetry and idiomatic expressions written in multiple dialects. It is also notably the closest modern day version of Latin and has expanded my vocabulary tremendously in English. I was first exposed to Italian as a young child through listening to opera and then study of piano and voice. (All musical notation continues to be written in Italian – even if the composer is Chinese or Czech. It is a global language of music. Even in my toddler’s music class, they were taught “piano e forte” and not “soft and loud”.) I then became interested in Italian art as I studied studio art and attempted copying some of da Vinci’s and Michelangelo’s sketches as a form of study. I traveled to Italy with my art class in high school and was immediately taken with the country and beauty of the spoken language. I was determined to study Italian in college. (It was not offered in my high school.) I began an independent study program in Italian Studies with the guidance of Tullio Pagano as the Italian Studies major was not yet established when I began this trajectory. Since graduation, I have always found ways to incorporate Italian into my career. I taught English to Italians in Italy and did free-lance translation work. I worked for a satellite office of The Johns Hopkins University in Italy. I ultimately worked in finance in International Correspondent banking and managed the Italian accounts (Italian banks were my clients). (I worked periodically in the Milan office as well.) Finally, I changed careers after our son was born and have pursued a dream. I established my own business teaching Italian to young children. I have developed (and continue to expand) a curriculum - including songs and props and crafts which I create in Italian – which is relevant to young children. I am teaching through the use of music, rhymes, and props and handouts covering topics relevant to small children – everything from zoo animals to brushing teeth and naming the planets. Italian is a language of great import and can be used in numerous career paths.
Matthew Rodano. I was the person who actually lobbied to have Italian Studies made as a Major from a Minor and was one of the first persons to do a double major in Italian Studies and International Studies. Being an Italian Studies Major has helped me a great deal in my career and I try to use it as much as possible. Through my use of Italian, I have increased my knowledge and understanding of other foreign languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and more. Currently I am Vice President of Client Relations for The LanguageWorks, Inc. It's a foreign language translation agency. I have been in the industry for 16 years now. I actually used to translate and teach entry-level Italian to children and adults. The background and information that I learned have been extremely helpful. It helped me too in my Study Abroad program in Bologna, Italy. I even worked as a translator for a short period of time from Italian into English. If you would ever like for me to address students on the subject, I would be more than happy to do something via Skype or come to Dickinson for a visit.