Prospective Students
Massimo Guglietta
Double major: Political Science and Italian
How did you decide on your major?
My father was born in a small town in Italy called Lenola, and Italian is his first language. I have always wanted to learn but my high school never offered Italian. So when I arrived at Rutgers my first semester of my freshman year, I enrolled in Elementary Italian 101. From that point on I have taken classes in Italian every semester and even had the opportunity to study abroad in Ferrara, Italy. I knew that I had a love for the country itself but after a couple classes I was in love with the language as well and constantly wanted to know more.
What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?
I believe the best thing about being an Italian major is that it develops a skill that most majors do not. Learning a language opens so many more possibilities for conversation, employment and friendship that I could not begin to imagine what my life would be like if I had not studied Italian. The Italian Department takes pride in improving their student’s oral and written skills, because the faculty know that the possibilities are endless with the knowledge of a second language. What makes the Italian major such a fundamental part of my college experience is that it gave me enough training in two years to be able to communicate while I was studying abroad. It was an incredible feeling being able to take what I learned from the Rutgers Italian Department and apply that in everyday life through daily interactions. Italian allowed me to make friends with people that wouldn’t have been possible had I not known the language, and has opened my eyes to a completely different way of thinking. I could not possibly think of one negative aspect of majoring Italian.
Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?
This past spring I took the Senior Seminar with Professor Andrea Baldi where we discussed various texts and films in great detail. I loved this class because it was the first Italian class I had taken since returning from Ferrara, so I was very confident in my Italian. The class is a higher level class which meant we studied material that was a little bit more challenging than previous years. We read a novel that is traditional taught in Italian high school a felt amazing finishing a full book in a language other than English. In Ferrara, I was able to take a class centered on the multiculturalism of Italy. This class was incredibly interesting because it offered a different perspective of Italy that most of us have never seen. We studied the immigration patterns into Italy and well as newspapers and laws created by the Italian government. This class combined both my majors of Italian and
Political Science which is why it stands out for me.
What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?
This summer I had the opportunity to intern for United States Senator Robert Menendez in his Newark office. It was incredible to see a glimpse of how our government works and to
contribute. It was a great way to get some real world experience while using what I have learned at Rutgers. During the internship, I was even able to use my knowledge of Italian. It is incredible how many times I have used Italian in unsuspecting situations!
What are your other Rutgers activities?
I am very involved with my fraternity Theta Chi and have represented them in the past in Dance Marathon where I was one of the top male fundraisers. I have also served as the Democratic Committeeman of Ward 6 District 4 New Brunswick.
What are your plans following graduation?
My plan is to apply to law school but I am constantly searching for jobs in which I can use my knowledge of Italian. I plan on applying for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Scholarship for the 2018-2019 calendar year with the hopes of being able to learn about other cultures and meet new people.
Kathryn Barbetta
Double major: Italian and German Language and Studies
Why did you choose Italian as your major?
It’s funny when I think back to the reason I first wanted to pursue the Italian language. I was in
high school and I had a crush on a boy. He had decided he was going to take Italian, so I
decided to do the same; however, it wasn’t long before I realized I was far more interested in
the course than this boy. In a way that sounds almost too corny to believe, Italian was the first
thing I had ever studied that spoke to me; everything about it just made sense. The idea of
being able to communicate with a people I neither knew nor knew anything about was just too
beautiful to pass up. Almost instantaneously after choosing to study the language in high
school, I knew without question it would be the major I chose to pursue at a university level.
What did you like most about it?
Being able to comprehend more than one language is what bridges the gap of
miscommunication between people, and I find nothing more satisfactory than being able to
cross that bridge for myself. It’s just so beautiful, finding yourself lost in a moment, surrounded
by new friends and comrades all flying through the details of their day in a language that just a
few years ago, you didn’t know a single word of. It’s a surreal moment, because maybe
passersby have no idea what this particular person is saying to you, but you hear it clear as
crystal. You almost can’t explain WHY you understand it; you just do. It’s a powerful feeling.
What is your current position, what do you, and what do you enjoy most about it?
Currently I am not working. Instead, I am pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of
Urbino in Italy. There is not a single thing about this plan that I don’t love. I’m living in
Fermignano, just ten minutes away from Urbino, where I have made new friends, family and I
life for myself that I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined.
What was your first job after Rutgers and how did you get it?
My first job after Rutgers was managing a restaurant in Weehawken, New Jersey. I had found
the job through a friend of my father. This gentleman was born and raised in Austria, Germany,
and because I had also studied German during my time at Rutgers my father thought it would
be funny to see “my studies in action”; he introduced me to his friend, we spoke in German for
a few short moments, and the next thing I knew I was offered a position managing the
restaurant of the hotel he oversaw as General Manager.
How did you move from that first job to your current position?
In truth, the chain of events that led to my current situation were often less than pleasant. I
experienced an incredible amount of unhappiness working as a restaurant manager, in addition
to several other jobs I encountered more than a year later, followed by the typical questioning
of everything I had ever done in life that brought me to where I was. Why was I so unhappy?
Why hadn’t all of my hard work and studying just magically paid off and presented me with
some life-changing, fairytale job? What was I doing wrong? It was this line of questioning that
eventually brought me to my answer; I loved studying Italian more than anything while I was
still in school, but now I wasn’t pursuing what I had studied. Instead, I felt as though I was
sitting on my education and letting it go to waste. The thought alone was heart wrenching, so I
took matters into my own hands. I wasn’t going to let myself be unhappy, because if not for
anything else, I deserved better. I committed to the idea of starting my life over in Italy, where
I would be consumed by the language that in my hearts of hearts I wanted nothing more than
to fully understand, and after months of preparation, I did just that. I made my life my fairytale.
Looking back, what classes or experiences at Rutgers would you point to as contributing to your
successes?
The Rutgers Summer in Urbino Program changed my life forever. The first time I stepped off
the plane and onto Italian soil, the first look out towards the rolling hills of the countryside from
the windows of the buses we took from the airport to the city, the first breath I lost while
staring at the beauty of the Palazzo Ducale, I was never the same. That summer studying
abroad in Italy was the greatest summer of my life, until this year. I vowed from the moment I
first arrived that I would make my way back to that university, because I had found a piece of
myself there that I had never even known I was missing. It was that same piece I lost for a
while following graduation, when I had stopped doing what I loved for the sake of doing what I
thought was right. But what was right for my friends and my family just wasn’t right for me,
and that was okay. My riches were meant to come from a different kind of success, and it
wasn’t one that could be measured by an annual salary.
What advice do you have for our current Arts and Sciences students?
Follow your hearts. It sounds silly, but it’s incredible when you think about just how many
people overlook the due diligence to oneself. Not everything you study needs to be chosen
with the conscious decision of a financially fortuitous future, but that doesn’t mean others who
choose to do as such should be condemned for their choices. What works for one person may
not necessarily work for someone else, but as long as you find happiness in what you have
chosen to pursue, there are no wrong decisions to be made. Just keep your heads up, and
search to find that special something that just makes sense to you, because it’s out there. It
may not necessarily jump out and bite you on the end of the nose, but all the best things in life
take a little extra digging sometimes.
Maria Di Costanzo
Get Inspired!
Whether she’s watching “Life is Beautiful” in its original Italian, discussing the plays and novels of Luigi Pirandello with her aunt in Naples, or learning about the social and political issues facing modern Italy, Maria Di Costanzo always feels inspired in the Department of Italian.
“It’s a total life experience,” says Maria, a junior. “I’ve learned so much in this department — with this beautiful language at the center, extending into literature, film, and culture.”
She has also learned a lot about herself. When this Piscataway, N.J. native started taking Italian classes at Rutgers, she was hesitant to even speak in class, wondering if the Naples dialect she learned from her family might hinder her ability to speak standard Italian. Now she’s mastered the language and is president of the Italian Club. Adult students auditing courses seek out her help to fulfill their dream of learning Italian.
“I feel I’ve been transformed from someone insecure in their ability to speak the language to someone who helps others grow and become more confident in the language,” she says.
With her Italian major, and her minor in international and global studies, she’s also feels ready for her future.
“I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of working at the United Nations,” she says. “I feel the options are limitless.”
Josmary Medrano
School of Environmental & Biological Sciences
Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Nutrition Dietetics & Italian
How did you decide on your major?
After my first year at Rutgers, I was positive I wanted to pursue Nutrition as a major. My love for food science and its effects on metabolism really inspired me to pursue something that would allow me to educate others as well as encourage healthy living. Though I originally intended to acquire an Italian minor, I decided my sophomore year to pursue an Italian major. The incredibly engaging faculty encouraged me to strengthen my speaking and writing skills while gaining proficiency in the language.
What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?
In both of my chosen fields, I was able to pursue research and that allowed me to explore my interests. Through the Italian department, I completed an undergraduate honors thesis entitled Foundations of Medieval Dietetics in which I culminated research from both of my disciplines of study.
Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?
First of all, the Italian department is thriving with exceptional faculty. Some of my favorite courses would certainly include Contemporary Italian Lit and Italian Cinema, then taught by Professor Rhiannon Welch. I have also thoroughly enjoyed Italian Literature and the Italian senior seminar which I took with my thesis advisor, Professor Laura White.
What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?
My favorite academic experiences outside of my major would include studying abroad in Urbino, Italy with the Italian department, participating in an international service trip with Rutgers Alternative Breaks, and taking an agricultural leadership course which included an agri-touristical tour of the Netherlands.
I am a member of the Nutrition Honor society and volunteer with the Hub City Fresh Corner Store Initiative, I am in the Douglass Residential College, and have participated in the Nutrition, Food Science, and Italian club throughout my undergraduate education.
What are your plans following graduation?
Following graduation, I intend to continue pursuing biological research. I plan to apply to graduate programs in microbiology for Fall 2018.
Krista Wohlbold
Double Major: Italian Studies and Political Science
Minor: International and Global Studies
My name is Krista Wohlbold and I’m a senior double majoring in Italian Studies and Political Science as well as minoring in International and Global Studies. When I first entered Rutgers I took an intermediate Italian class and had a wonderful instructor who encouraged me to continue studying the Italian language. I quickly decided to declare an Italian minor and soon I would learn that the Italian department is much more than a place to learn a second language. It has introduced me to some of the most welcoming and passionate faculty at Rutgers. I really liked that many of my classes reflected themes from my other coursework in my college career. I recognized this fact after studying abroad in Florence, Italy, when I decided to declare as an Italian Studies major. For me, Italian Studies has allowed me to study Italian culture and society through different disciplines and lenses. It is much more than language learning: it is a combination of literature, history, art history, gender studies, and more. This major has helped shaped my life both at Rutgers and abroad. I am grateful for the experience and I am confident that my Italian Studies background will continue to help me understand and learn new perspectives in whichever path I choose to pursue after graduation.
How did you decide on your major?
After studying abroad in Florence, Italy I decided to make my Italian minor into a major. I wanted to continue taking Italian language and culture classes.
What is it about your chosen field (and the department) that appeals to you?
I love that within the Italian department I can study Italian culture and language through various disciplines such as history and literature. I’ve also liked the class sizes and how it feels like a small welcoming community at such a large university.
Do you have a favorite class/professor within your major?
I think one of my favorite classes was Mafia Movies with Professor Welch. I really liked how we learned about the perception of Italian Americans through film and how it has changed over time. It was both a fun and insightful course and has shaped how I now view movies.
What are your favorite academic experiences outside of your major?
One of my favorite classes I’ve taken at Rutgers was Early Native American History during my freshman year. It was a great course that taught me about a side of history we often hear so little about. Last spring, while studying abroad, I took a history course that was half taught outside the classroom. The first half of each class was a lecture and for the second half my professor took us somewhere in Florence. It was a unique and memorable experience. I’ll always remember taking notes on top of the Duomo.
What are your other Rutgers activities?
I’m actively involved with SCREAM Theater through the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance. SCREAM is a peer educational, interactive theater program that educates on interpersonal violence including sexual assault, dating violence and bullying. I perform in skits and facilitate the general body meetings. I’m also a Global Ambassador through the Rutgers Center for Global Education and a conversation partner through the International Friendship Program.
What are your plans following graduation?
I plan to work for a non-profit focusing on gender based violence before pursuing higher education and of course one day I want to return to Italy!