Club Spotlight: Italian Club

Emily Grillo, Staff Writer

Did you know there was an Italian Club on campus? Last year, the Italian Club was founded by both Emma Salachi ’19 and Isabella Bolognese ’20 in order to create a place for all students interested in expanding their cultural horizons.

The Italian Club is a place for people with like-minded interests in the Italian culture, as a way for Assumption students to share conversation and common interests regarding everything Italian. Bolognese, who is the club president, has a special place in her heart for the Italian culture, which is one of the reasons she wanted to start the Italian Club. “I was sad to hear about the Italian Studies program which, at the time, had a low enrollment of students,” she said. “A group of students and I were inspired to bring back the Italian Club as a way to bring together students who are interested in learning, discussing, and celebrating the Italian language as well as Italian American culture and history.”

Members of the club include people from all different backgrounds, not just Italians. It’s a safe space where anyone can share their views, learn more about the Italian culture, and form friendships that will last a lifetime. “Many of the club members are students who have studied abroad or those who are interested in the Rome Program and other study abroad opportunities at Assumption College,” Bolognese added.

One member of the club, Luca D’arpino ’22 stated, “his favorite part of being in the Italian Club is the close-knit friendships I’ve made. Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t know many people, but after these two years of being a part of this ‘family,’ I can genuinely say the number of friends I have made is amazing.”

“We talk about Italy’s history, current events, food production in different regions, the political and economic situation, as well as the language,” said Bolognese, adding that the Club meetings are run in a loose structured manner, further encouraging an “all-hands-on-deck” atmosphere in which everyone’s voices are heard. Whether it’s talking about recent news in Italy, making posters, or planning an event, everyone is involved.

Members of the club are also working together to execute campus-wide events to raise awareness of Italian studies at Assumption. Just in this last year, the Club put on some engaging events including, an Italian Trivia night, and an Italian Festival. The trivia night was filled with food, prizes, and questions projected on a screen for audience members to answer, at the end of the event, those with the highest scores won prizes! The Club is hoping to put this event on again in the future. The Italian Festival was the club’s big debut featuring: live music, pizza, gelato, and raffle prizes. Because of the event’s success, the Club will be hosting another Italian Festival this semester on Thursday, March 26, during

the evening hours. Look out for more updates on this event on the clubs instagram, @ac_italianclub.

If interested, all are encouraged to get involved in the club. The Italian Club welcomes everyone and is always looking for new members. It meets Monday evenings at 6 p.m. in Tsotsis 312. Ci vediamo li!