Bruzzese ’11 Awarded Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Italy

Francesca Bruzzese ’11, of East Greenwich, R.I., has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Italy. A Spanish and Italian double major, she will teach English to high school students. She leaves for her nine-month stay in October.

Bruzzese spent her junior year studying in Bologna, Italy. Following her Fulbright experience, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Italian and teach at a college.

“I’ve been so inspired by my professors, especially Susan Amatangelo, who has been a great professor, advisor, mentor and friend during my time here,” she says.

At Holy Cross, Bruzzese, who has an identical twin sister, was heavily involved in Italian culture and language, including an Italian radio show broadcast on Holy Cross’ radio station WCHC (88.1 FM), member of the Italian department’s Student Advisory Committee and regular participant of the weekly Italian coffee hour where students, foreign language teaching assistants and professors meet to chat in Italian.

Each year approximately 1,000 college students are awarded grants through the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange. Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception in 1946, more than 250,000 participants — chosen for their leadership potential — have had the opportunity to observe each other’s political, economic and cultural institutions.

Read about this year’s other Holy Cross Fulbright Grant recipients: Jennifer Caffrey ’11, Kerry Drury ’11, Kristen Dunlap ’08, Herma Gjinko ’11, William Grebe ’11, Jamie McCarthy ’11, Thomas McGlynn ’11, Abigail Chorlton Riskind ’11 and Kathryn Simison ’11.