Program Director Eleonora Trucca
Eleonora will be directing the Summer Program in Italy for the second time in 2012. Eleonora was born in Romanshorn, Switzerland, but grew up in Italy, in the town of Bagnoregio just 30 km from Viterbo, where she later earned a Certificate of Education at Liceo Linguistico. Eleonora moved to Viterbo, Italy in 1995 and has been hosting year-long SYA students since 2002. Eleonora began working for School Year Abroad in 2005 as the host family coordinator for the full-year high school study abroad program. What she loves most is to travel and come into contact with new cultures. Together with her husband, Marco, and daughter, Camilla, she has visited parts of America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
World Citizen Initiative Coordinator and Assistant Program Director Michelle Harth
Called to teach at an early age, Ms. Michelle Harth brings extraordinary depth and breadth, vision and experience, to her new position as World Citizen Initiative Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Summer Session at SYA Italy for 2012. She has taught a wide variety of courses (including all levels of math and physics, chemistry, robotics, theology, religion and science, and a multidisciplinary class on chaos and complexity), coached numerous sports (including soccer, field hockey, and tennis), advised dozens of clubs and thousands of students, and served on countless committees (most recently, including admissions, wellness, and sustainability). Before assuming her current roles as Grants Chair for the
Global Studies Foundation and as a faculty member at
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School (MS), Ms. Harth taught, coached, advised, and served as a Head of House at St. Paul’s School (NH), one of SYA’s charter member schools. Previously, she taught, coach, advised, and served as the Associate Dean of the Upper School at The Haverford School (PA). A former Klingenstein Fellow at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Ms. Harth earned a BS in Engineering Physics as a TJ Watson Scholar at the University of Virginia and an MA in Theology from Villanova University. She also has extensive travel experience, having both led student and faculty trips overseas and studied abroad -- both in Costa Rica (Spanish and art) and in Italy (Italian and art). A lifelong student of the world who is comfortable in multiple communities and navigating between cultures, Ms. Harth is looking forward to returning to Italy, to working with a diverse group of students, and to exploring collaboratively some of the most pressing issues we face -- all from multiple perspectives. Return to
World Citizen Initiative page.
FACULTY
Daniele Gatti
Daniele was born in Viterbo and earned a degree in Language & Linguistics. He speaks Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Daniele has worked for many years in contact with people of different ages, social background and geographic origin; his experiences living abroad have had a strong influence on him as well, shaping his approach to people and creating within him a sense of openness. Daniele is also an accomplished musician. He has performed as a singer and guitarist in many cities in Italy (Terni, Latina, Rieti, Perugia, Rome, Bologna, Trieste) and abroad (Lisbon, Barcelona, Coimbra, Santiago de Cuba, London). He also participated in numerous high profile international master classes in the presence of some of the great st guitarists of the twentieth century like Leo Brouwer, Alirio Diaz and David Russell.
Elisa Zampetta
Elisa was born in Montefiascone and earned her first degree in Modern Literature and the second one in Modern Philology. She speaks Italian, English and French. She has excellent communication skills and is a terrific team member. Elisa is also a member of the Conservatory “A. Casella” choir in L’Aquila with whom she has performed in concert.