Hello, my name is Jessica Bray. I’m from Hercules, California which is part of the Bay Area. I’m a Chinese-American and I moved to San Diego 4 years ago to attend San Diego State University for Psychology. 

Growing up, Italy was my dream vacation to go to so I wanted to learn Italian. I eventually went to Italy with my family in high school but at the time, my high school only offered Spanish, French, and German. I needed a 3 semesters language requirement for my major so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to learn. After 3 semesters I decided I enjoyed learning the language enough to strive for the minor. 

My favorite aspect was making close connections with my fellow classmates and getting to know a few of my professors for multiple semesters in a row. Everyone has been so helpful the past few years and the sense of familiarity helped. I enjoyed the Italian literature, Advanced Oral and Written Composition, and Italian film classes the most. 

I plan on gaining work experience in the emergency medical field until I apply for Paramedic school a year or 2 from now. Ultimately, I want to be a paramedic firefighter.

My name is Brandon Figueira, I am from Concord, California and I just graduated in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with a minor in Italian. As a kid I was always fascinated by high performance cars, specifically Ferrari and Lamborghini. Along with some other factors, this was my introduction to engineering and Italian. I also chose to take Italian classes in high school instead of Spanish, so this gave me a little bit of a head start in completing my minor. 

At first I only took Italian as a general education requirement for my degree, but after experiencing how fun, vibrant, and interactive the Italian classes at SDSU are, I decided to continue taking Italian classes and pursue a minor. Going to class never failed to put a smile on my face or cheer me up after I received a bad grade on an engineering exam.

Over the past 5 years, I have learned so much about the Italian language, culture, cuisine, art, history and literature. One of my favorite aspects of the Italian program was learning the different ways of life in different regions of Italy (North, South) and then experiencing them when I studied abroad in January 2019 and visited Rome, Assisi, Florence, Bologna, Padua, and Venice.

As an aerospace engineering graduate I am looking to start my career in the space industry and hopefully end up working for NASA in their mission of landing the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. I also plan to travel to Italy and explore the South at some point in the future. But who knows, maybe one day I’ll end up being an engineer at Lamborghini.

Hello, my name is Stephanie Garcia, an International Business major with Emphasis in Italian and Western Europe. I was born and raised in San Diego. I am the first in my family to graduate from a 4-year university. I am also a transfer student from San Diego City College. 

I chose Italian in high school to meet my language requirement and fell in love with the culture. I was also amazed at how quickly I learned Italian because it is very similar to Spanish. When I graduated high school, I never thought that I would use those Italian skills I had learned because I was certain I was going to be a biology major. I eventually realized that science was not for me so I switched to International Business and was able to choose Italian as my language emphasis.

My favorite part of the Italian courses at SDSU were the small class sizes. The class sizes were smaller than my other classes, so we had the professors’ full support and attention. It made learning easier because the amazing Italian professors were always giving every student their full attention. I was also able to meet some great people and we have now become great friends. I know I will keep in touch with them now that I have graduated. I also joined the Circolo Italiano (Italian Club) where I was also able to meet great people.

My future plans are currently on hold due to the current pandemic situation. I work at the San Diego International Airport and once we are allowed to go back to work I will return to my current job at the airport. I plan on applying for a federal job as soon as we are able to do so. This job will allow me to travel and still work in my field. I also hope to do a lot of traveling and be able to return to Italy real soon.

My name is Alondra Marquez Escamilla, I was born in Tijuana, Mexico and moved to San Diego at the age of 10. I have since lived in Chula Vista. I majored in International Business and graduated in December 2019.

I chose Italian as my concentration because as a child I would always listen to Italian artists with my mom. As I grew up, I became interested in Italian culture, art, cuisine and of course, Italian language. The IB program was a perfect way to explore every aspect of Italian culture while giving me the opportunity to study abroad in the country.

One of my favorite moments as an Italian student was having the opportunity to go the opera. Also, I really enjoyed taking the Italian Cinema course. To this day, I still watch the movies we discussed in class and found a personal interest for Italian movies and TV series. My plans for a future seem a bit unclear at the moment, but I definitely plan to visit Italy again sometime in the near future. I will also continue studying the language to avoid forgetting what I’ve already learned.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the Italian Studies Program for making every class, every event and every assignment memorable. I have truly enjoyed my years as an Italian student and am sure that my years at SDSU wouldn’t have been the same had I not decided to enroll in the program. 

Hello, I’m Abel Martinez, an International Business major with Emphasis in Italian and Western Europe, and with a focus on Management. I was born and raised in San Diego. I’m the first in my family to have graduated from the university. I’m currently working for the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department and have been with the company for 6 years.

I chose Italian to meet my language requirement at Southwestern Community College and was amazed as to how well I managed to learn the language since it’s very similar to Spanish. It’s weird how everything turned out now that I look back at it. During my years at the community college, I switched my major three times from astronomy to automotive technology, and eventually to International Business, which allowed me to choose Italian as my country of emphasis for the language requirement.

My favorite thing about the Italian courses at SDSU is the fact that the classroom size is smaller compared to all my other classes, so we gained full support from the professors. The classmates I met in my Italian classes were very nice people whom I’ve become great friends with. During my years at SDSU, I was involved in the Circolo Italiano (Italian Club), where I was a Public Relations officer, then eventually became the Vice President. Being a part of the club, participating in the club events and meeting more people definitely made the university experience well worth it.

My future plans are currently on hold due to the current situation with the pandemic. Thankfully, I’m currently still employed and working for the City of San Diego and plan to keep my part-time job. Having worked as a public servant for the community that I was born and raised into is definitely motivating especially when people around the community look at me as their role model. With that being said, my plan once the pandemic calms down is to find a full-time job, where I can gain some experience in the property management/real estate field, and eventually saving up enough income to start my own property management company. The motto I learned throughout my years is “dream big and never give up.” My purpose to become successful is to be able to provide for my family and ultimately to be able to give back to the people in my community.

I am from San Diego and my background is Mexican. 

I chose Italian because I wanted to continue with the language. I started studying Italian my freshman year of high school and felt it beneficial to continue with higher education level classes. 

My absolute favorite course of the Italian program was the Italian film class. Films are one of my obsessions so I was extremely pleased being in a course dedicated to Italian cinema. Another aspect I liked was all the people I met along the way. Most of our classes were small so you really got to know everyone in your class and thanks to that I’ve made a lot of great friends. 

My future plans are to continue working in industries I am passionate about. I also plan to enroll into a master’s program in the next year. And, of course, continue to travel as much as I can.

Hello everyone! My name is Shai Romano I am from San Diego, California. I am 21 years old and I have just graduated from San Diego State University with a major in International Business with an emphasis in Italian and Western Europe. I am the youngest member of my family, I have an older brother and an older sister who also graduated from SDSU and studied Italian and had the opportunity to study abroad in Venice, Italy.

I chose to study International Business with an emphasis in Italian because I have always been intrigued with Italian culture. The fact that Italy is such a small country but is responsible for many of the greatest inventions and artworks is fascinating. Even though I studied Spanish and Portuguese, I studied Italian for four years before going into college and it is the language that I like best. Furthermore, I always wanted to learn more in depth about Italian cuisine, art, architecture, and history in order to fully understand the impact Italy has had in the world.

One of my favorite aspects of the Italian program was the structure and content of every class. Each class had the same structure with different content that is relevant to the next course that I had to take. Learning the language such as grammar & spelling were crucial to comprehend the upper division courses, which consisted of: music, cinema, politics, literature, culture, economic, art, and history. The professors are really knowledgeable and they all have vast experience in the field of study. I enjoyed every classmate I encountered because we were all excited and inspired to learn this language and grow with the values we learned in class.

Another experience I had during my time at SDSU and studying Italian was studying abroad in Milan, Italy. Milan is one of the most recognized cities in the world for its rich culture, history and fashion. This was a very good experience both academically and personally because I was able to communicate with my Italian professors and colleagues with ease due to my previous experience at SDSU. The Italian program was very helpful in terms of teaching me the proper language and culture in order for me to strive and understand the Italian way of living.

My future plans at the moment are on hold due to everything happening with Coronavirus. My collegial career and the Italian program have prepared me for many challenges that I will encounter. I plan to travel and return to Italy to visit some cities and monuments I did not have the opportunity to visit. I am also looking forward to work in the meantime and save money in order to attend a University and get a Master’s degree in either Italian or Business Administration. In addition, one of my most important plans I have in mind is to continue studying and striving to learn more. I will never stop learning Italian and I plan on inspiring people through my work and endeavors.

Hi! I’m Lauren Wheatley and I’m originally from the United Kingdom but I was raised in Seattle, Washington. I graduated with a degree in International Business with Emphasis in Italian and Western Europe. I chose to study Italian because my mother’s side of the family immigrated from Abruzzo, Italy to Seattle in 1908 and I’ve always had an interest in the Italian culture and my heritage connected to it. 

One of my favorite aspects of the Italian program is the great instructors, you can tell they care for each student and you can tell they are really passionate about teaching the Italian language. I also loved the Italian cultural events. It was great to attend an Italian opera and the Italian Film Festival in Balboa Park. This program really impacted my college experience and I always felt at-home in my Italian courses.

My future plans are to begin work either in Barcelona, Spain, or to continue living and working in San Diego. Time will shortly tell which one I choose! My biggest ‘future plan’ is to be happy wherever I’m at.