Cody Slutzky, SFS 2025

” When I enrolled in the Beginner Italian Language and Culture Freshman Seminar, I didn’t expect to continue studying the language for more than a semester– but I could not be more grateful I stuck with it. Learning about Italy’s language, culture, and politics has exposed me to a part of the world I never expected to engage with. During that first semester, our wonderful professor made each of our classes exciting and rewarding, and nearly all of my classmates continued studying the language in the semesters to come.

Because the Italian department is smaller than most other language departments, it breeds a heightened sense of community that helped deepen my passion for the language. The cohort of freshmen I met that first semester would become some of my best friends, who I’d go on to nearly all of my Italian coursework with. Moreover, this tight-knit feel was especially strong amongst the department’s professors. Each professor cares deeply about their students, and their unique fields of study make learning about Italy an even richer experience. I never expected to read the original texts of Machiavelli or dive deep into 1950s Italian film, but I am glad I was able to do so with such marvelous instructors.

After graduating, I know I’ll carry Italy’s language and culture forward with me for a lifetime. The country and its people are more than just Rome and Milan, pasta and pizza, and opera and ruins. Italy is a country rich in history, philosophy, innovation, craft, and resilience, and I hope to engage with it as I move forward with an internationally minded career. Where this will take me, I cannot say. But I do know that all roads lead to Rome, and I’m immensely grateful for the Georgetown Italian Department’s help in setting me on this path.”

Cody is also a 2025 recipient of the Robert A. Facchina Italian Legacy Grant.