Philip Salandra, SFS’16

“Looking back, I can’t imagine my life without Italian, from the way it has helped me better connect with my family, to the way in which it has made learning languages like Spanish far easier.”

Given that both my maternal and paternal grandparents came from Italy, I have been fascinated with Italian culture for as long as I can remember. Whether it was visiting my grandmother while she stayed in her old home outside of Naples during the summers, or enjoying a plate of my mom’s impeccable cooking, I felt a strong connection to all things Italian. In my second year of high school, I finally had the ability to take an Italian class, and I absolutely loved it. This newfound interest in the Italian language drove me to self-study, enabling me to reach a new level of connection with my grandparents. Once I arrived at Georgetown, I began to prepare for the foreign language proficiency exam and was struck by the kindness of the Italian department’s professors. They would answer any question I had and help me improve my speaking skills even though I was not enrolled in a class at that time. Now in my second semester, I have continued to feed my love of all things Italian by joining the Georgetown Circolo Italiano and taking a Business Italian class. Although I am unable to major in Italian due to my enrollment in the School of Foreign Service, I plan to continue to take courses in order to learn more about Italian literature and I am considering a study abroad at Università Bocconi in Milan. Looking back, I can’t imagine my life without Italian, from the way it has helped me better connect with my family, to the way in which it has made learning languages like Spanish far easier; I find it has become an integral part of who I am and I would like to further develop this passion in the years to come.