It was a celebration of excellence as faculty and students gathered in Founders College on Feb. 1 for the inaugural Italian Studies, Department of Languages, Literatures & Linguistics Awards Ceremony for 2005-2006.
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| Above: Italian Studies faculty members pose with award winners |
The event began with welcoming words from Professor Roberta Sinyor, coordinator of the Italian Studies program; Professor Mauro Bucchieri, master of Founders College; and Professor Wolfgang Ahrens, undergraduate program director of Languages & Literatures.
Italian Studies awards were handed out for various courses and levels as follows:
- Italian Studies Book Prizes for Elementary Italian – Bruno Servello and Ljusi Brace
- Italian Studies Book Prizes for Intermediate Italian – Domenico Servello and Maria Russo
- Italian Studies Book Prize for Introduction to Italian Literature – Melissa Tullio
- Italian Studies Book Prize for Aspects of Italian Culture – Andrea Giansante
- Italian Studies Book Prize for Italian Cinema – Lucrezia Pozzuoli
- The Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian Canadian Studies Book Prize – Irina Kargovski
Left: Professor Roberta Sinyor (left) congratulates Intermediate Italian award recipient Maria Russo as her proud parents look on
Following the ceremony, Professor Gabriella Colussi-Arthur, associate dean, curriculum, Faculty of Arts, spoke about the value of an arts degree and the advantage that language students have when they leave the University and become ambassadors of York.
"A liberal arts degree with a focus on a foreign language, its form, its literature and its culture provides you with an extra set of skills…those special keys necessary for unlocking the doors to your future," said Colussi-Arthur.