2024 Day of Giving

Support the study of languages and cultures!

Donations to the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures play a vital role in helping our department expand its mission and retain its position as a center of excellence for the study of languages and cultures. Gifts from our supporters help us provide more resources for language teaching, support for academic programs and curricular innovations, and most importantly, fund scholarships and internship opportunities for our students.

"My research on Italian Immigration in Northern California, and Italian-American identity in my native town of Santa Cruz (CA), together with the translation of an interview with African-Italian author, Kossi Komla Ebri, shaped me both linguistically and culturally throughout the course of my studies at SCU. Both learning experiences played a fundamental role in fostering a deeper appreciation for my own identity, heritage, and family history."

– Mia Locatelli '24, Italian Studies and Communication

"The Misericordia internship, through the REAL Vari Initiative, was a fantastic experience that truly opened me up to the relationship between language and diversity/inclusion. Despite working virtually with the Italian students, I was still able to establish a connection and engage intimately with them. We would often prepare presentations for each other, where we would describe our daily lives. Through this, I was able to gain insight into the lives of these students, their culture, and their routines."

– Agustin Pace '25, Italian Studies and Economics

"After reading Courtney Maum's dramatic tale of extra-marital affairs and the impact they have on relationships, I found a driving narrative for my choreography, one that could bring together my perspective on language and dance as two complementary forms of expression. Set in Paris, the novel naturally connected my two majors together and allowed me to convey the dramatics of French society through dance. Inspired by the music I used, I created a French title that would capture intense introspection and the extremes to which we will desperately go to make a relationship work— "Je mourrais pour ton amour"."

– Mia Kanter '24, French & Francophone Studies and Theatre Arts