When examining campus culture, we often focus on student activities. So, we started a series examining how professors on campus contribute to our culture! This week we’re hearing from Professor Giuliana Chapman, a Lecturer in Italian.
Q: How did you come to work in your field?
A: If you mean field as in ‘teaching,’ then I’d say that it’s coded into my DNA. My father is a college professor, my mother was a children’s librarian, one of my uncles is a college professor, and my other two uncles were in academic publishing. Of my three aunts- one was an early childhood Sign Language specialist, one a music teacher, and the other a teacher in Elementary school and Special Education. […]
If by field you mean “Italian,” I suppose it’s the same answer! I loved languages and I studied Latin, French, and Spanish. While I enjoyed those languages […] none of them were quite […] right. When I learned Italian it was as if the language fit right into my mouth. I could pronounce everything easily. This makes sense because as children, my grandparents were Italian immigrants. So, the DNA thing again! When my father was growing up, there was a lot of anti-Italian sentiment in the United States and his family encouraged the use of English only. Speaking Italian meant that I could recoup something our family lost.
Q: How long have you been at Roanoke, and how did you come to be here?
A: Gosh, I have been here since the year 2000. I was first teaching as an Adjunct. As we built the Italian program, I was hired full-time as a Lecturer. I came here because… I met a boy. My husband is from Roanoke and we moved here from Charlottesville when he got a job here. Honestly, I lucked into being here at Roanoke College. It was one of those “right time, right place” sort of things.
Q: What’s your favorite part of your work, and what’s the most challenging?
A: […] My favorite parts kaleidoscope in on themselves and make each day a little different and a little differently rewarding. If I had to pick, my favorite part is having the privilege to work with my students for three or four semesters. […] Many of my students start Italian with me in their first semester on campus, as first-years. It is impossible to describe how rewarding it is to me to see a student progress, grow, learn, and find a little something along the way that will help unlock who they are.
This isn’t part of my day-to-day, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking students to Rome through the May Term course I teach together with Dr. Mary Henold in History. It’s magical.
The most challenging part is finding what approaches will help create the rhythm and pace that our classes demand. Language learning happens in different ways on different days. The challenge is to get to know my students well enough to be able to design assignments and activities that’ll continue to engage them and provide them with the opportunity to learn.
Maggie Raker
Section Editor
